French farmers ringed Paris's famed Arc de Triomphe monument with tractors on Friday, saying the protest was aimed "at saving French agriculture", the Rural Coordination union said.

Farmers across Europe have been protesting for weeks over what they say are excessively restrictive environmental rules, competition from cheap imports from outside the European Union and low incomes.

The farmers held up banners and dumped stacks of hay around the monument on the Champs-Elysees avenue.

"The Rural Coordination takes over the Arc de Triomphe symbolically and peacefully," said a statement on social media platform X.

French farmers have continued to block roads, set fire to tyres and laid siege to supermarkets, saying they need more measures, after the government promised reforms.