Anger of Farmers: the rural coordination of Haute-Garonne blocks trucks at the Spanish border in Fos

10:30 a.m., Wednesday, November 20 in the morning, around ten of them set up on this roundabout which links the RN125, from Saint-Gaudens, and Lleida (Spain). On site, they prevent heavy goods vehicles and trucks from heading towards Toulouse. Only individuals, by car, can take this path. “Blocking the trucks is a way of putting pressure without impacting individuals, who have not asked for anything. This allows us to draw attention to us,” explains Dominique, a goat breeder in Herran.

And the farmer continued: “The average salary of a farmer is €400 per month, who can live with so little? How, with this salary, can we cope with the explosion of costs? We must say stop, That’s enough.” Among farmers, a question resonates: since the last mobilizations, what has changed? “Nothing! We were listened to, but so few things were put in place,” proclaims one of the demonstrators.

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A disappointment towards the French government which turns into anger for these farmers of the territory. “We are taking on water, we have the impression of sinking, and the demonstrations and promises of last year have done nothing”, chants another mobilized farmer.

“We are a little but we are determined”

Resisting the cold and the rain of this first day of mobilization, the Rural Coordination of 31 is determined to maintain its blockade for an unlimited period: “For the moment, we are going to occupy the roundabout, we even have enough “shelter to stay asleep tonight,” adds Dominique. In fact, a trailer, a few bales of hay and a tarpaulin provide shelter against wind and bad weather. Despite their small number, the demonstrators remain confident: “We may be few, but we are determined, we will only give up when we are truly heard by the government.” What about the days to come? Do the members of the Rural Coordination plan to continue their actions? “To date, we have not spoken among ourselves about other interventions. Afterwards, we are not thugs either!” chants one of the farmers in response to the Minister of Agriculture’s comments, Annie Genevard, who has been outraged by the agricultural mobilizations for several days.

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In addition to the lack of listening on the part of the government, farmers also denounce the Mercosur agreements. “It's the last straw,” assures one of them, who specifies: “We don't understand, we are forced to respect restrictions in our products, on the other hand we can import products which do not respect the same standards without problem. It is urgent to act for the quality of the products and the consumers “And Maxime Raud, president of. Rural Coordination 31, added: “Our disagreements are with Europe, with the government. As we explained to the prefect on November 19, there are solutions, but we need to helps to put them into action.”

What future for farmers?

The farmers of the Fos roundabout address the sustainability of their profession with: “Of course we have a lump in our stomach, when we wake up in the morning and we are a breeder of only a cow or a lamb or a goat is dead, we know that this will impact production. It's the same situation for cereal growers, they see their crops destroyed by hail and find themselves up against the wall. And Jean-Michel goes one better: “Before we talked about good years and we hoped for them to pay the bills, but they haven't existed for a long time.”

As for Spanish truck drivers, they remain surprised by the situation, not completely understanding the mobilization of farmers. “I wasn't aware of it, I don't really know how long it will last but it's forcing me to turn around. It's annoying because I had to go to Céret, there it's going to be complicated.”