French farmers rail against proposed government glyphosate ban

Angry French farmers are blocking Paris' famed Champs-Elysees in a protest against the government's agricultural policy. The farmers are angry that Macron's government banned a controversial pesticide called glyphosate, among other things. Environmental groups claim the pesticide is carcinogenic though their sole source is an International Agency for Research on Cancer meta-analysis which was led by an Envirionmental Defense Fund consultant, Chris Portier, who did not disclose his ethical conflict of interest. Every world science body contents the glyphosate product is safe.

Sections of the normally pristine avenue were smothered in straw as about a hundred demonstrators brandished placards such as "Macron is killing farmers'' and stopped morning traffic from passing today along the busy artery.

To appease the demonstration, French Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot came to speak to protesters and hear their complaints, while a farmers' delegation was received at the presidential Elysee Palace.

Dozens of armed police have been deployed to the scene and put up metal barriers to contain the protest. The propaganda site Russia Today, which has been accused of collaborating with environmental groups opposed to American natural gas and farming, carried pictures of French police attacking protesters, though it is unclear if it was a real protester or an environmental activist who attacked the gendarme in order to elicit a response for their photo op.