The farmers have protested against low food prices, proposed environmental regulations (such as a carbon tax, pesticide bans, nitrogen emissions curbs and restrictions on water and land usage), and trade in agricultural products with non-European Union member states, such as Ukraine and the Mercosur bloc of South America.

[8] In response to the protests, the EU backtracked on policies to consider farming emissions in its 2040 climate roadmap, a law to cut pesticide use and delaying implementation of a target for farmers to leave some land fallow to improve biodiversity.

[17] Road blockades were ongoing and common from 23 January 2024 until Prime Minister Gabriel Attal conceded on 1 February.

[18][19] Farmers' protests in Germany began on a major scale on 16 December 2023 in response to the phasing out of tax breaks for diesel subsidies by the German Government due to their unconstitutional misuse of COVID-19 relief funds.

[21][22] Farmers' protests in the Netherlands have been ongoing since October 2019, it was mainly started over proposals and legislation to limit human impact on the nitrogen cycle.

[25] The European fact-checking sites Newtral and Science Feedback analyzed that the farmers' protest is being weaponized to sabotage climate action.