While the agricultural union Rural Coordination called for “surrounding Paris” from Sunday, around fifty tractors from the Lyonnais mountains are expected south of Lyon this Monday morning. They could be joined by other demonstrators from neighboring departments.
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The call for demonstrations was maintained Monday January 6, 2025 : despite contacts between the government and the agricultural union Rural Coordination, the tractors will head to the capital but also to Lyon.
In the Lyon metropolitan area, this mobilization of farmers is organized by the Agri Chabanière association and the Rural Coordination.
Around 8 a.m., around fifty tractors coming mainly from the Lyonnais mountains will head towards Pierre Bénite to block traffic. These demonstrators will potentially be joined by others from the surrounding departments: Loire, Haute-Loire, Drôme or Ain.
From 5:00 a.m., the prefecture anticipatesSignificant disruptions to the south and southwest of Lyon, mainly around the A450 / M7 / A7 interchange near Oullins-Pierre-Bénite, in both directions, as well as on the D342 departmental road which connects Tassin to Brignais.
Due to expected congestion on these roads, authorities advise motorists to plan their trips in advance and avoid these areas whenever possible.
As during the taxi demonstrations in December, the organizers will be required – according to the instructions of the Prefect – to maintain an open lane of traffic, primarily for emergency and law enforcement vehicles.
Law enforcement and road managers will be present to ensure safety and manage traffic. The Prefect recommends that motorists follow the suggested routes (available via Bison Futé, radio 107.7, mobilites.grandlyon.com) and exercise caution near processions and blockages.
Even if the four main agricultural unions will finally be received at Matignon on January 13, the Rural Coordination, the second union in terms of number of members, has maintained the shows of force in Paris and in the region.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the agricultural sector believes it is facing a succession of health, economic, geopolitical and climatic crises. Farmers are seeing an increase in production costs, while the prices paid to producers are not keeping up with this increase.
According to the president of this movement, Véronique Le Floc'h, French agriculture is in “great danger”. And to mention 30,000 farms, out of the 400,000 farms in France, which benefited from aid of around 9,000 euros over the past year even though, again according to Ms. Le Floc'h, that the ministry of Agriculture would estimate more than 150,000 farms in financial difficulty.
