The authorities have held back from intervening by force against road blockades and other forms of protest, including defacement or break-ins at government buildings and food industry sites such as supermarkets and warehouses.

On Friday, an empty rural social insurance building was set ablaze in southern city Narbonne as farmers demonstrated nearby.

“There’s no cause that can justify property damage or violence… (but) at present there are unfortunately farmers who feel desperate,” Young Farmers (JA) union chief Arnaud Gaillot had earlier told broadcaster Sud Radio.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government still bears the scars of the 2018-19 “yellow vests” movement, which mobilised huge numbers of people across French society and saw ugly clashes between demonstrators and police.

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