Tension is rising among farmers, massively hostile to the Mercosur agreement. Already fueled by excessive bureaucracy and low income, this anger took the form of a call for national mobilization, starting this Monday, November 18. Launched by the FNSEA and the Young Farmers (JA), the dominant union force in France, it comes at a time when the members of the G20 are meeting in Brazil.
Will we see road blockages again in Brittany in the coming days, like in January? Not so sure, as the local branches of the unions are, for the moment, displaying more moderate positions. Among the 90 operations recorded by the FNSEA in France, only one will take place in Brittany, on the Callac roundabout (22), on Monday. Franck Pellerin, secretary general of the FDSEA in Morbihan, explains: “Our message is simple: that the Mercosur treaty is not signed and that the display of the origin of products is made compulsory. There is no need to block the roads and bother the people who are going to work to get this message across.” “The urgency and the priority are to finish the harvests, the sowing and to bring the animals in before winter,” adds Nicolas Chesnin, dairy producer in Nivillac (56). Same story for the Finistère JA, who are not considering any action for the moment.
“It can go away suddenly”
On the side of Rural Coordination, the second largest French union, reflections are maturing. “There remain questions on which we need to be heard, but we favor dialogue for the moment,” says Joseph Martin, regional president. The third union, the Peasant Confederation, chose other modes of action. Its delegation from Ille-et-Vilaine will thus participate in a rally against the project for the largest tomato factory in Europe, this Saturday, in Isigny-le-Buat (50) “to make the link with the competition orchestrated via the free trade agreements”.
The three unions say they listen to their members: “It’s a bit like a pressure cooker. We are under pressure and it can start suddenly,” warns the FDSEA 56.
France
