80% of subventions are going to 20% of the biggest “farmers” in Europe. Big distribution buys at very low prices and sell at very high prices. Small farmers don’t earn enough to decently live and kill themselves. Government do nothing because €€ Big Agro-food companies and lobbies are killing for profit.

Support local production and direct distribution !

This is oversimplified and badly written but it sums up the situation.

I imagine farmers in France, at least, are protesting because it was a day ending in ‘y’ (or ‘I’ in French I guess) and they had nothing better to do.