For several weeks the countdown seems to have started. If the government does not provide answers to their demands by then, the FNSEA and the Young Farmers announce the next agricultural revolt for November 15. The Rural Coordination gives its ultimatum for the 19th, calling on their colleagues to demonstrate that day, in front of the prefectures. Farmers are preparing for this, particularly in Lot-et-Garonne.
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Julien Capdeville cultivates 30 hectares of cauliflowers in Fauguerolles in Lot-et-Garonne. Last season, repeated rains forced him to throw away a quarter of his crops, an estimated loss of 150,000 euros in one winter. This year is already shaping up to be disappointing.
Julien Capdeville is a market gardener in Fauguerolles in Lot-et-Garonne.
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© J. Sousa / France 3 Aquitaine
Last January, the farmer took part in demonstrations in front of the Agen prefecture, as far as the Rungis market. He says he is ready to repeat.
“We have no choice. If we don't do it, we don't know what tomorrow will be like. We hear the treaties on Mercosur, that we are going to take away phytosanitary products, that we need more ecology,… I can hear it, but I want to know how we work in peace”
Trade union organizations have been warning for weeks through operations and demonstrations, describing the distress they experience on a daily basis and their concerns about the lack of reactions from the State. After the dissolution of the National Assembly and the arrival of the Barnier government, the latter was slow to propose answers that were nevertheless vital for these thousands of farming families.
Even recently in Gironde, Béarn, Dordogne, farmers have increased awareness-raising operations, by hijacking road signs and leading demonstrations to recall the commitments of the previous government.
“Make way for the agricultural revolt”we can read in a press release from the Rural Coordination of Lot-et-Garonne released on November 4 and signed by the two co-presidents, Karine Duc and José Perez. The CR47 calls for total mobilization. The demonstration in front of the Agen prefecture has been postponed until November 19 to give farmers time to organize.
However, according to José Pérez, copresident of Rural Coordination 47, the state of mind is no longer the same. “When we went up to Rungis, we had hope. The farmers were mobilized, saying something is going to happen.”
There, the farmers no longer have hope. Many are in financial and moral distress. What will happen at the next demonstrations will be dramatic!
Jose PerezCo-president of Rural Coordination 47
The Lot-et-Garonne union organization particularly distinguished itself at the start of the year during the unprecedented agricultural movement which mobilized several hundred farmers throughout France. She reminds Michel Barnier's government that they are still waiting for concrete answers.
After demonstrating in an unprecedented way… (…) the distress increased. After inviting the new Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture to react and take strong measures to calm the anger of farmers.
Press release of November 4, 2024CR47
A letter was recently sent to the department's deputies to request the Ministry of Agriculture. A letter left unanswered.
By November 19, they nevertheless hope for reactions from the government. Just like thethe RN deputy for Lot-et-Garonne, Hélène Laporte, who believes that the agricultural orientation law for which she was rapporteur, “did nothing except explain what food sovereignty was. There was nothing on a decent income for the farmer, nothing on unfair competition (…) and a troubled process at the level of Mercosur.
“There is not a sector where things are going well! Each time there are agreements, a whole section of our agricultural sector stops, which disappears.” The MP mentions the problem of beef and poultry, but also of the hazelnut sector in Lot et Garonne which is suffering from Turkish and Italian competition.
She appeals to the new Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevrard. “It would be good if the minister came to us in Lot-et-Garonne with concrete solutions.” According to her, there needs to be real political will, a “real agricultural reform, concrete!”
Telling them “I understand your distress…” is no longer enough!
Helene LaporteMember of Parliament (RN) for Lot-et Garonne
This next demonstration on November 19 is organized with the aim of “demand a final burst from the government!” With the threat that, “without a strong and immediate decision from the State between now and then“, farmers could organize a blockade, from November 20, of “French food freight, in order to give the government a taste of what our country will be like, tomorrow, without farmers.
