French farmers began moving on Paris Monday, threatening to choke off major highways and to blockade the capital as they demand better working conditions.

For days, nationwide protests have flared in the European Union"s largest agriculture producing country, with farmers angered by insufficient income, red tape and environmental policies they say undermine their ability to compete with less stringent neighbours.

Across France, farmers have used tractors and trucks to block roads and jam traffic.

They plan to step up their pressure campaign by establishing eight chokepoints along the major arteries to Paris on Monday afternoon. In response, the government ordered the deployment of 15,000 police and paramilitary gendarmes.