This Tuesday, November 26, from 10 a.m., angry farmers took position at the Parasol roundabout, a key crossroads in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, located at the intersection of the RN21 and the Fumel road. At the initiative of the unions of the FDSEA and the Young Farmers (JA) of Lot-et-Garonne, this movement intends to denounce the ongoing discussions on Mercosur and the growing difficulties of the agricultural world.
Tractors equipped with trailers loaded with manure and waste invaded the scene. A fire was lit in the center of the roundabout, while a filter barrier was put in place, slowing down traffic on this busy route. Some heavy goods vehicles were even stopped for inspection by the demonstrators. Despite the disruption, motorists showed their support by honking their horns. Faced with slowdowns, the authorities quickly deployed diversions to ease traffic flow. However, the blockage led to significant traffic jams in the morning, particularly around the Buffalo Grill restaurant. The organizers of this mobilization, determined to maintain the pressure, announced their intention to stay on site all day.
This movement is part of a series of protests aimed at defending local farmers, faced with major economic and environmental challenges, like what the Agenais saw in their commune last week with the farmers of the Coordination Rural 47.
The permanence of Guillaume Lepers targeted
At the start of the evening, the demonstrators dislodged the Villeneuvois roundabout to enter the city, and more precisely to go to the parliamentary office of MP Guillaume Lepers, rue de la Fraternité. The latter was then covered at the entrance with several tonnes of hazelnuts. To understand, the Lot-et-Garonne hazelnut industry mainly fights against two enemies as small as they are formidable: the balanin, also known as the hazelnut worm, and the so-called “diabolical” bug. These two insects are now swarming to levels never before seen. The State, for its part, had prohibited producers from using an insecticide. The backlash of farmers, in the third constituency of Lot-et-Garonne, cradle of the hazelnut in 47, thus took place with its elected representative in the National Assembly.
The former first Villeneuvois councilor then reacted on his social networks with these words: “Farmers will always be welcome at my office! Because their fight is just. Because they nourish us. Because international competition without control is unfair. Because they don't need additional standards to tell them how to do their job. Because they deserve to live with dignity from their work. » On site, this latest action caused a slowdown in traffic in the city center this Tuesday evening.
