Angry French farmers promise 'chaos' in southwest

Photo: Philippe Lopez Agence France-Presse Members of the agricultural union “Coordination Rurale” of Gironde unloaded waste in front of the Mutualité sociale agricole of Bordeaux, Tuesday.

Myriam Lemetayer – Agence France-Presse in Paris

Published yesterday at 10:35 Updated yesterday at 20:36

• Europe

Farmers demonstrated again on Tuesday in France, particularly in the southwest, where the Rural Coordination (CR) union claims to want to “cause chaos” to make itself heard.

Less than a year after a historic mobilization, agricultural unions believe they have not made enough progress. They also fear the imminent ratification of a free trade agreement between the European Union and Latin American Mercosur countries.

As of 7 p.m. on Tuesday, 26 actions mobilized 1,600 farmers and 421 agricultural machines in 24 departments, according to the authorities.

The French political class displays a rare unanimity in its opposition to the trade agreement with Mercosur countries. France warned on Tuesday that it would continue to have “a standoff for as long as necessary” with the European Commission to oppose the treaty.

France received support from Italy, but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reaffirmed that the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur “must finally be concluded”.

Late in the afternoon, the majority alliance FNSEA-Jeunes agriculteurs (JA) hailed “a first victory” after the announcement of a debate followed by a vote on 26 November in the National Assembly on the free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur countries.

Read also

• New outburst of anger among farmers in France, fueled by an agreement with Mercosur
• The malaise of French farmers, “an anger that comes from afar”

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

“The mobilization continues”

“We are finally moving in the right direction” and “without anticipating the position of Parliament, let us be proud, collectively, of this union action. […] Nothing has been won, we are not naive, but the mobilization continues”, declared Arnaud Rousseau, president of the FNSEA, in the joint press release without giving further details on the continuation of the movement.

For her part, Sophie Lenaerts, vice-president of the Rural Coordination, wondered “what is the point of debating a subject on which everyone agrees ?”.

The FNSEA-Young Farmers alliance is avoiding organizing blockades like last year, favoring symbolic actions so as “not to annoy the French,” but its rival, the Rural Coordination, is stepping up its mobilization on Tuesday.

In Guéret (center), around thirty demonstrators, accompanied by tractors and dumpsters filled with waste and manure, forced open the front door of the French Biodiversity Office (OFB) and the Mutualité Sociale Agricole.

They scattered tires and waste inside and ransacked piles of files.

The local head of the OFB services went to meet them for a brief discussion and was insulted and threatened. He filed a complaint, according to the same source.

“Provoking chaos”

Farmers from the Rural Coordination also set up a roadblock on the A9 at the Boulou toll gate (south), about ten kilometres from the Spanish border, blocking goods trucks but allowing cars to pass on this major route between the two countries.

Arriving in tractors and cars, the demonstrators immediately began asking drivers of heavy goods vehicles registered in Spain for their papers, in order to check the loads.

“We are going to block the A9, but also the fuel depots, the ports, the purchasing centres. “We want to cause chaos and a food shortage,” assured Serge Bousquet-Cassagne, regional figure of the Rural Coordination, present in Le Boulou.

On the A9, “river of fruits and vegetables arriving from Spain”, he envisages “a lasting blockage […] over several days”.

Photo: Lionel Bonaventure Agence France-Presse Farmers from the Rural Coordination have set up a roadblock on the A9 at the Boulou toll gate (south), about ten kilometers from the Spanish border.

Within an organization that presents itself as apolitical, the union leader regularly shows his support for the National Rally (far right).

FNSEA and JA have continued their mobilization, which began on Monday.

In Bourges (center), about ten tractors launched a go-slow operation from the ring road to a city center road.

The majority alliance has chosen arteries with symbolic names, such as the Pont de l’Europe in Strasbourg, to challenge the European Commission, which seems determined to conclude a free trade agreement with Latin American countries of Mercosur.

Mercosur, which notably opens the way to new imports of beef at reduced customs duties, acts as a deterrent for farmers. But the list of evils described in the demonstrations is much longer: excessive standards, unfair competition, insufficient income and consideration…