surprise operation in Leclerc, gentle method at Super U, farmers are now targeting consumers

This Saturday, December 21, the farmers of Gironde were mobilized to make their demands heard. On the one hand, the Rural Coordination carried out a muscular operation in Leclerc de Sainte-Eulalie, when the Young Farmers chose to raise awareness of local products.

Their yellow caps are now recognizable to everyone. This Saturday, December 21, around ten activists from the Rural Coordination of Gironde met, from 10:30 a.m., at the Leclerc roundabout in Sainte-Eulalie in Gironde, to “that people become aware of the situation”. “Everyone is responsible, from large retailers to government to consumers. They need to realize that by consuming French, they are helping local farmers.” explains Christophe, member of the Libourne Rural Coordination.

With their five tractors, the dozen demonstrators mainly chose the supermarket, two days before Christmas, to denounce the attitude of the mass distribution brand. “They turned it upside down on us. When we demonstrated in front of the purchasing center, we realized that they had sent all their cargo to other depots even though they said they were listening to us and wanted to work with us, explains Christophe. We told them we would come back, we came back.”

While they make money on our products, we are struggling.

Christophe,

Activist of Rural Coordination 33

From the roundabout, many motorists on their Christmas shopping honk their horns or wave to the yellow hats. “Thank you and well done”, says one of them. Although the route to enter the supermarket was blocked by manure and tractors, consumers were indeed able to continue shopping.

After two hours, the farmers finally entered, against the wishes of the store management, inside the store to check the products. There, their faces display a suspicious look. “There are almost only French products. Where there are foreign labels, there is no more product, as if it had been cleaned before our arrival,” one of the demonstrators is wary, pointing to a shelf labeled “Spanish wine”, without any bottles.

In the shopping gallery, customers showed their support, while the temporary traders looked grim. On this pre-holiday weekend day, the operation took a toll on their business. “You are making me lose money”, says one of them, installed in a shed. The heated exchange of words almost turned into an exchange of blows.

On the Sauveterre-de-Guyenne side, relations were intended to be more peaceful. At the town's Super U, the Young Farmers of Gironde organized a gentle operation to “raise customers’ awareness of French consumption”. “We have a lot of questions about why we are angry, why now. This is an opportunity for us to explain to them and raise their awareness so that they act in a way that helps us make a living from our profession.”explains Lucas Berthomieu, member of the Young Farmers of Gironde.

The dozen demonstrators therefore offered customers meal baskets, from 15 to 22 euros for the holidays. On the menu: pâtés, bottles of wine and market gardening products, all from local production. A key word that the supermarket also tries to apply. “We always played the game, taking our meat and our wine on the side. We negotiate prices directly with them and we try to ensure that everyone is on the same page.”explains Martin Beaux, the manager of Super U.

A punch operation to publicize their suffering or a gentle operation to raise consumer awareness, a few days before Christmas, farmers hope more than ever to raise awareness and encourage the French to consume locally.