“There’s no way it’s coming to France!” » Member of the Young Farmers (JA) office of Manche, Brice Rivage sums up the general feeling: here, no one wants the free trade agreement currently being negotiated between the European Union and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina , Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia).
This draft treaty could eliminate the majority of customs duties between Latin American countries and the European Union. “In these countries, the standards are not the same as ours for beef, they do not have the same health conditions. In addition, traceability is almost non-existent. ».
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“Things are going badly in our countryside”
To make their voices heard, a handful of farmers from the JA and the FDSEA met on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, in front of municipal exit signs from the city. They came with adhesive posters, on which the word “Mercosur”, written in capital letters, is crossed out. After taking charge of the sector of Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët, Mortain-Bocage, Isigny-le-Buat, and Brécey on Monday, they continued on Tuesday with Pontaubault, Précey, Saint-James and Pontorson. While installing the one in Pontaubault, the small team of farmers were honked at. The trucker's brand of support is appreciated by all.
For them, it is first and foremost a way of alerting local elected officials: “We tell our mayors that things are bad in our countryside. And they can pass on the information,” explains Nicolas Boulé, deputy general secretary of the agricultural union FDSEA. The symbolic action recalls all the panels that were returned at the start of the year. Is this again a preamble to larger-scale demonstrations or blockages? “If these actions do not lead to a response, we are ready to increase the pressure,” affirm these farmers.
Simplification of administrative procedures
For the moment, the objective is not to degrade. But to cover the entire South Channel, panel by panel. Beyond this treaty, these breeders want to show their difficulties. Everything they denounced during the last agricultural crisis, in January, has not been resolved, far from it. “We are always asking for the simplification of administrative procedures. »
In addition to this collage of panels, another action has already taken place in the Channel on Monday evening: 70 farmers gathered in Carteret, where they installed three road radars, to “control” imports from overseas. Atlantic.
