“Decoration” of roundabouts, “fires of anger”… In Haute-Vienne too, farmers are mobilizing against the agreement with Mercosur

It took a little while to get up to full speed. But once launched, the plancha, installed in a cattle truck, filled Place Denis-Dussoubs in Limoges with a smell that would make more than one salivate. So, in the middle of a lunch break, at around 1 p.m., curious people, but also elected officials from the department* – who came to support the farmers and recover their commune entry and exit signs “kidnapped” in recent days – let themselves be tempted by the little meat tasting… “limousine!” », as supported by Pascal Germond, member of the FDSEA Haute-Vienne office.

Because the objective of this first action of the day, carried out by the FDSEA and the Young Farmers (JA), was there: “to promote local production while warning of the threats that the Mercosur agreement would pose to our agriculture “. “We have good meat in Haute-Vienne and the idea is to talk about it to consumers, to make it known, to explain our profession because we are above all there against Mercosur,” insisted Boris Bulan, president of the FDSEA of Haute-Vienne.

“Stop the Mercosur agreement”

Certainly, the demands of the agricultural world are numerous (cash flow aid, administrative simplification, standards, etc.) but the slogan, this Monday, November 18, was “No to Mercosur” while the leaders of the Group of Twenty met, at the same time, in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) for a G20 where the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur will obviously be discussed.

Place Denis-Dussoubs therefore, but also on the main roundabouts of the Limoges conurbation “decorated” in the afternoon or in front of the prefecture, later in the afternoon and evening, FDSEA and JA posted: “Stop the Mercosur agreement”.

“See this South American meat full of GMOs (genetically modified organism, editor’s note) which could arrive, be eaten by our grandparents in nursing homes, our children in schools, while we, here, make very good meat – and with many standards – this is not acceptable,” Léa raged. Senon, representative of Young Farmers in the canton of Châteauponsac, in the north of the department.

And then there is obviously the question of the consequences on the market, of the future of the profession and of the future in general. “If we import more meat and therefore prices fall, we will lose even more breeders,” summarized Boris Bulan this Monday morning at Place Denis-Dussoubs. Here, in Haute-Vienne, we are going to have a problem with landscape maintenance, biodiversity and everything that livestock farming can bring to the department. »

“The sheep experienced this 30 years ago after the Rainbow Warrior affair,” remembered Pascal Germond. For 30 years, sheep breeders suffered on their farms because the price of sheep was aligned with imports. We know what it cost, we know what capacity to produce we lost. With Mercosur, this is what risks happening to cattle. »

The day began with the little flames of the plancha. It ended with the more important ones, the braziers in front of the prefecture, “symbols of the “fires of anger””. A very strong anger throughout France.

The Haute-Vienne Rural Coordination “calls on the farmers of Haute-Vienne” to a mobilization in front of the prefecture in Limoges at 10:30 a.m. “We will bring our grievances and demand concrete responses from the prefect,” writes CR87 in a press release. It has been almost a year since no credible and concrete response was made by our politicians and state representatives. »