Update - French Farmers İn Paris Protest Against High Taxes

Hundreds of farmers blocked the entrances to the French capital of Paris with their tractors in protest against high taxes Thursday.



Over 1,500 tractors and 4,000 farmers from all over France gathered at the Place de la Nation in eastern Paris, raising slogans such as "We want prices, not aid", "Bureaucracy kills work", and "Agriculture is in Danger".



France's largest farming union, National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA) and Young Farmers, organized the protest, calling for "an emergency plan to save France's agricultural industry".



Following similar protests last July, French government had offered the unions an emergency package worth €600 million euros ($680 million) in tax relief and loan guarantees.



However, the farmers said that the offer was not enough.



"What we first want is a respect of commitments on prices, in all sectors," Florent Dornier, vice president of Young Farmers, told French broadcaster LCI on Thursday.



Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced Thursday a set of new measures to support farmers saying, "the government' social contribution will notably be tripled to reach 50 million euros".



The head of the French government has mainly focused on investment aid. "The aid paid by the state, the regional authorities and the European Union will be brought up to 350 million euros per year for the next three years," Valls said at a press conference.



Valls added that struggling farmers will be exempted from paying bank debts for 2015 for debts, a key demand by farmers.



However, the announcement was not welcomed by farmers, saying they wanted real reforms rather than "shells".



According to French agriculture minister, around 10 percent of farms in France -- approximately 22,000 sites -- are on the brink of bankruptcy with a combined debt of €1 billion.



The protest comes ahead of an extraordinary meeting of the Agriculture Council of the European Union in Brussels next Monday, where EU agriculture ministers will discuss the financial crisis affecting the sector. - Ile-de-France