Near Toulouse, the head of the FNSEA calls on farmers to mobilize: here is the date

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Radars covered, panels turned over. And even on this roundabout located a few steps from the entrance to Mervillethe anger of farmers is expressed: “Macron, you reap what you sow”, we can read on roundballs. This Thursday, October 31, 2024, Arnaud Rousseauthe president of the National Federation of Operators' Unions (FNSEA) was traveling in the town north of Toulouse. In particular, he launched a call for mobilization for November 15.

“Where it all started”

“I came back to Haute-Garonne. This is where everything started in January, even if elsewhere in France, the farmers had already mobilized before by turning over the panels,” says Arnaud Rousseau, measuring the symbolic significance of this meeting. Because Haute-Garonne is also one of the French departments where farmers' income is the lowest. On average, a farmer receives 330 euros per month.

A year after the first actions, motivated by the slogan “We walk on our heads”, they note that the promises have not been kept. Anger exploded in January, with the blocking of motorways, first on the A64 in Carbonne. A starting point that had a snowball effect. Gabriel Attalthen Prime Minister, came to the dam to communicate various announcements.

“There are thousands of us who are disappointed”

Nine months later, farmers gathered around Arnaud Rousseau denounced the lack of action on the part of the government. “Thousands of us are disappointed. We were experiencing a dramatic situation last winter, it got worse. It’s even harder for us,” says Axel Tran Vangrain farmer. It was also at his home that this Thursday's meeting was organized.

Arnaud Rousseau positions himself as spokesperson for this “agricultural distress” marked by “the absence of income”, he underlines. Among the main concerns remain the climate problems: “the question of water is central in Occitania. It has rained a lot in recent weeks. Common sense would have been to allow us to store water without impacting the environment. In six months, we are not safe from another drought. […] We need greater adaptability.”

“No to the free trade treaty”

Another worrying news headline: the ongoing work of the European Commission to obtain a trade agreement with the Southern Common Market, abbreviated Mercosur. If last February, Gabriel Attal affirmed his opposition to this free trade treaty hated by farmers, it could be put back on the table during the G20 summit which will begin on November 18.

“We are going to fight against that,” underlines Arnaud Rousseau. The subject should be at the heart of the new protest movements which are emerging for November 15. “France must have the courage to say no. I don't see why we would open our doors wide to products that do not meet the same standards as us. We are controlled. We are sacrificing agriculture,” protests Axel Tran Van.

Vaccins, charge administrative

The president of the FNSEA mentions other “targets to be addressed”: “the question of vaccines” with the proliferation of MHE [Maladie Hémorragique Épizootique qui se transmet aux animaux par les moucherons, NDLR] and FCO 8 [Fièvre Catarrhale Ovine (FCO) sérotype 8 dont souffrent certains bovins allaitants, NDLR]. There is also the return of bird flu.”

Another problem: the administrative burden that weighs on farmers. “Sometimes, these are things that are not tenable,” laments Arnaud Rousseau.

“Anger is not a project”

The next elections to the Chamber of Agriculture will be held next January. In the meantime, the representative believes that “anger cannot be a project for agriculture”. Arnaud Rousseau is also worried about the future of the profession “when we know that in the coming years, 50% of farmers will retire ».

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