Agricultural anger: tension at the Corrèze Chamber of Agriculture

La Peasant Confederation took advantage of the outfit this Monday of the session of the Chamber of Agriculture for mark its opposition to the deployment of photovoltaics in the agricultural world. Around a hundred demonstrators were present.

The session of the consular was finally postponed ; the Peasant Confederation for his part, filed a complaint at the Tulle police station for comments deemed defamatory.

Agrivoltaism: 2 opposing visions

And at Cunfederation Paysanne has in her DNA, opposition to Mercosur, this Monday, in Tulle the message is good different: “We are here, the Peasant Confederation, because our project is to install farmers, it is not to install panels on farms » lance at the microphone to the hundred demonstrators, Laurence Marandola, union spokesperson :

“To survive, we farmers should not need to seek additional income provided by energy.”

The Peasant Confederation is opposed to agrivoltaism, this opportunity for farmers to combine priority agriculture and energy production and the choice of action in Tulle is not trivial.

“A “Corrèze rural real estate” SAS was created in Corrèze to promote the development of agrivoltaism and this real estate company was created by actors from the agricultural world, it’s scandalous” explains Laurence Marandola

Chamber of Agriculture, FNSEA and Safer are singled out. In the House precisely, President Daniel Couderc explain mainly defend photovoltaics on roofs,

“Afterwards, on ground-based photovoltaics, we made proposals for places which have no interest for agriculture, no interest for the forest (…) such as old quarries, left-over roads.”

In total, on the ground, these are 300 megawatts which can be exploited by 2030-2035 specifies Daniel Couderc. As for this “rural real estate company in Corrèze”, it is a way to counter private project leaders explains the president:

“Today, there are many, many people who are approached, who sign long-term leases and in our department. Today, these long-term leases are blocking approximately 8,000 hectares which tomorrow will not be offered for the installation of young people or for the succession of elders.

No unity in the anger of the agricultural world

Before the session of the Chamber was interrupted, Daniel Couderc deplored, through the action of the Confédération Paysanne, an attack by “farmers against farmers”.

“There is no peasant unity” Laurence Marandola retorts, “I say it very factually (…) At the Confédération Paysanne, we think that we need to restate all agricultural policies to keep numerous farmers, the countryside alive and that is perhaps not the objective of other unions.”

Session adjourned and complaint filed

At the start of the Chamber session, an elected official from the Confédération Paysanne was able to explain the reason for the mobilization. The debates then resumed but an FDSEA representative would have strongly criticized their attitude evoking “Nazi methods”. Comments which led, according to the AFP, to the filing of a complaint by the incriminated union at the Tulle police station.

On the side of the Chamber of Agriculture, we denounce the intrusion during the current questions of the session of “several activists of the Peasant Confederation” within the enclosure (….). The session was therefore adjourned, the consular added regretting “this deliberate blocking of the democratic system”.