Farmers' protests are gaining momentum. They are mobilizing against the proposed agreement with Mercosur and the lack of response to their anger from the government. The second agricultural union, Rural Coordination (CR), has been calling since Tuesday to block food freight. This is in addition to the unblocked rallies organized by the majority alliance, the FNSEA and the Young Farmers (JA).
This difference in method can also be explained by the campaign for the professional elections in January. Rural coordination is holding its annual congress at Futuroscope, near Poitiers. A strong method assumed to try to compete with the historic FNSEA. Among the actions announced, there is notably the blocking of food freight, by blocking, for example, the transport of goods or purchasing centers.
The idea is then to try to “dry up“supermarkets. “It will take several days to starve the country, but we will try to hold out as long as possible, that’s for sure,” says Laëtitia Plumat, member of the steering committee of Rural Coordination, who takes on the radical side.
Guest of franceinfo, Karine Duc, from the Lot-et-Garonne rural coordination, assures us: “We will intensify the blocking points and demonstrations“, from November 20, after representatives of farmers, opposed to the Mercosur agreements, were forcibly evacuated from the prefecture on Tuesday evening in Agen.”This is the second time we have been received at the prefecture this year. This refusal to accept and this total lack of response is totally unbearable“, she reacts. Before concluding: “The fight continues. We continue to be extremely mobilized. Just because there was a defeat doesn't mean the fight is over.“.
François Turpeau also agrees to go further than last winter. He is vice-president of the Vienne Chamber of Agriculture, one of the three held by the CR. “At the beginning of the year, we blocked roads, that’s all we did, he summarizes. We went to Rungis.
“Ultimately, the situation has gotten worse, so we are pushing farmers to adopt the strong method.”
François Turpeau, vice-president of the Vienne Chamber of Agricultureat franceinfo
A position which contrasts with that of the FNSEA and Young Farmers. The largely majority alliance asks its demonstrators not to attack property or people. This is precisely why the agricultural crisis persists, according to Véronique Le Floc'h, president of Rural Coordination. “The FNSEA is today linked to the entire agri-food industry, and obviously it cannot oppose the very people who today no longer pay us. So we are here precisely to regain our freedom”she says.
Véronique Le Floc'h hopes that the strategy will pay off in January to conquer other chambers of agriculture with strong power of influence.
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