French police resort to tear gas to quell protesters at La Rochelle port

Law enforcement officers have begun dispersing an unauthorized protest by farmers and union members at the port of La Rochelle, resorting to the use of tear gas. The protesters did not provoke the officers or throw any objects in their direction, according to Report, which cites TASS.

After calling on the demonstrators to leave the port premises, the officers deployed a substantial amount of tear gas. Groups of gendarmes, equipped with shields and batons, started to clear the territory in front of the agricultural product warehouses that the protesters had occupied.According to footage from the scene, the tear gas canisters have inadvertently sparked a fire in the dry grass along the road.

Under the mounting pressure from law enforcement, the farmers are now moving towards the exit of the warehouse area. A second convoy of protesters, which had set out from the center of La Rochelle, has been blocked by gendarmes in armored vehicles on the approaches to the port.

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A group of protesters opposing the construction of irrigation basins in France staged an unannounced action at the port of La Rochelle in the western part of the country.

According to Report, which cites TASS, despite a ban by city authorities, around 200 farmers, union members, and environmental activists managed to enter the port premises on tractors and block several facilities, including warehouses belonging to the agro-industrial company Soufflet.

The organizers of the action accused Soufflet and other companies of "speculating on intensive grain crops at the expense of land, water, and people, while destroying farmers' incomes to increase their own."