French Farmers Throw Sh*t Fit Favorite 

"Energy costs surged with the Feb. 2022 launch by Russia of full-scale war in Ukraine and hit hard for farmers reliant on tractors, harvesters and other fuel-guzzling equipment. Prices also soared for other inputs that underpin intensive farming, notably fertilizers. French farmers were already struggling to compete in the increasingly globalized economy. Another common grievance from protesters is that they’re being suffocated by red tape and tied down by French and EU rules that govern farming, land use and the distribution of billions of euros (dollars) in agricultural subsidies. Farmers complain that they’re losing to rivals from countries with fewer constraints and lower costs. But by using their lumbering agricultural vehicles to slow and block traffic and deposit stinky piles of agricultural waste outside government buildings, protesters have made themselves impossible to ignore and hard for police to stop."