Ln March 11, 2024, farmers from the Rural Coordination (CR) union dumped hectoliters of slurry on the Bordeaux reflecting pool. A gesture which had cost the municipality very dearly (more than 35,000 euros for cleaning and repairs), but could it bring big returns to the CR, a fan of radical methods of struggle, not fearing damage, as the elections in the chambers of agriculture? This is part of the challenge of this single-round vote, which will take place on January 31. In Gironde, it will allow us to see if the CR makes a breakthrough or, on the contrary, if it retreats compared to the 2019 elections.
Curiously, the elections are approaching, the main unions are already in the starting blocks, except one: the CR! While the lists must be submitted no later than December 16, a certain vagueness reigns among the yellow caps. “Normally, we have to submit our list this Friday, December 13,” says Vincent Collineau, representative of Rural Coordination in Gironde. For the moment the list is not finalized. We have a last general assembly on Thursday, in Villegouge, we will put the names in order. » What does “normally” mean? Even the head of the list is unknown to this day. “We are not obliged to have one, it could be a representative group,” replies Vincent Collineau.
“The CR is falling”
At the FNSEA, which has held the CA Gironde for many years, we do not seem to fear too much a rise of radicals. “Rural Coordination had made 23% in 2013, then 13% in 2019, so it is decreasing,” recalls Jean-Samuel Eynard, head of the list for the majority union. For us, the list is already ready, it will be tabled on the 16th. Our priority is to defend farmers and their income. The situation of wine growers is dramatic in Gironde. Now, I'm not for breaking and destroying. Violence solves nothing, you have to know how to sit around a table and discuss. Putting two tonnes of slurry on the reflecting pool, no one understood…”
“The disaster is gigantic, we were the minions of all this. I’m 40 years old, I don’t know if I’ll still be doing this job in five years”
On the Peasant Confederation side, which has three elected officials at the CA Gironde (25.99% in 2019), the list is also ready. It is led by winegrower Vincent L'Amouller, based at Château de Frédignac, an organic vineyard in Blayais. He also does not fear a possible rise of the CR, driven by anger: “We see the CR rise at the national level, at the media level but, locally, we don't see it too much, on viticulture we don't hear it not. At the Conf', we have an action plan, but not on the same register: we try to bring forward ideas, to think about what could improve the daily lives of farmers. »
Dissolution du CIVB
The target of the Peasant Confederation for these elections is contained in four letters: CIVB. This is the acronym of the Bordeaux Interprofessional Wine Council, the all-powerful inter-professional viticulture association. The enemy to be defeated, according to Vincent L'Amouller: “We are in radical opposition to the CIVB which brought us to bankruptcy. Today, there is a general debacle, even in the great wines. The disaster is gigantic, we were the minions of it all. I'm 40 years old, I don't know if I'll still be doing this job in five years, even though it's an operation spanning several generations. »
The only solution for the Conf': dissolve the CIVB and organize a general meeting of viticulture. “We must change this governance which led us into the wall, which did not see the crisis coming,” continues Vincent L’Amouller. Here, it is the speech that is radical, but the union does not advocate force on the ground.
The national context is the other major source of concern as the elections approach. “Agriculture always involves losses and profits,” laments Jean-Samuel Eynard. It all depends on which minister we have, but farmers can't wait any longer. » For them, the vacuum of power at the highest level could not have come at the worst time, when the peasants returned to the demonstrations. And the signing of Mercosur further increases their concerns.
Viticulture
The voting method in the chambers of agriculture is designed to amplify the position of the winner. The list that comes first takes half of the seats, the rest is distributed proportionally. In Gironde, viticulture represents 80% of agricultural activity. If the FNSEA keeps the CA, Jean-Samuel Eynard will mark the return of a wine-grower president, after the mandate of cereal producer Jean-Louis Dubourg.
