In France, the country’s largest farmers’ union, FNSEA, asked that fellow farmers and protestors continue their blockade of refineries and fuel depots after talks with the government failed. According to Reuters, French farmers and members of the FNSEA blocked the entrances with their tractors, including at the Total refinery in Donges, France. Total said that 3.5% of its petrol stations in France had run out of fuel on the second day of the blockade which disrupted fuel distribution. The protests were triggered by France’s decision to allow Total to use imported palm oil at a biofuel plant, which would compete with biodiesel made from locally produced oilseed crops, according to Reuters.
“We have worked a lot but we did not get enough. We are disappointed given farmers’ involvement,” Christiane Lambert, head of the FNSEA which organized the protests, told Reuters after meeting with Agriculture Minister Stephane Travert.