prefectures, heavy goods vehicles and logistics platforms targeted by demonstrators

Tires and manure dumped in front of the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, filter dams on the A21 at the call of the Rural Coordination, wall erected in front of the Ardennes prefecture at the call of the FDSEA: farmers began a campaign on Monday second week of mobilizations. In Arras, around a hundred farmers crossed the town in the morning with around fifty tractors, before dumping bales of straw, pallets, tires and manure in front of the prefecture, noted an AFP journalist.

For Patrick Legras, farmer and president of the Rural Coordination for Hauts-de-France, “income problems are fundamental for at least 50% of farmers”. “The year was catastrophic in many areas, cereals, bluetongue, livestock”he added, deploring being offered only “loans to repay loans”.

“We are always asked for more low-cost products, and that is not possible, with standards that are ever more important to us”added Damien Salomon, co-president of the Rural Coordination of Pas-de-Calais. After a first week of mobilizations against the free trade treaty that the European Union is negotiating with Latin American Mercosur countries, agricultural unions are continuing their actions to denounce the «obstacles» and the “norms”a few weeks before their professional elections.

“Stop overtranspositions”

In the Ardennes, the FDSEA carried out actions against the prefecture of Charleville-Mézières and the sub-prefectures of Sedan, Rethel and Vouziers. Some 121 tractors and 178 farmers were mobilized in total in the department, according to the authorities. With concrete blocks and cement, “we are going to build walls to represent the distance that separates the farmer and the administration”declared Thierry Huet, facilitator of the FDSEA des Ardennes, to AFP. “The message is stop over-transpositions, stop regulations that are killing our jobs.”

In Vierzon, in the Cher, several dozen farmers organized, at the call of the Rural Coordination, filter dams on the A20 motorway linking Toulouse to Paris, targeting French and foreign refrigerated heavy goods vehicles. Members of the Nièvre Rural Coordination blocked a fresh produce supply center for Leclerc stores, in Avermes near Moulins in Allier, before lifting the blockade at the end of the afternoon, according to Noël Deneuville, member of CR 58. Tires and waste were dumped on the ground and mannequins were hung from trees.

In Haute-Savoie, around ten tractors carried out actions to block logistics platforms at Rumilly and Alby-sur-Chéran at the call of Rural Coordination, without blocking traffic, indicated the prefecture. According to Bison Futé, two filter dams were put in place on Monday in the Toulouse-Vierzon direction then at the A20/A71 toll barrier.

Complaint from the prefects of Lot-et-Garonne and Landes

The prefects of Lot-et-Garonne and Landes filed a complaint for damage committed during farmers' mobilizations last week, as did the French Biodiversity Office in Creuse, we learned from the prefectures on Monday and the OFB.

Monday morning, “the prefecture of Lot-et-Garonne has filed a complaint for the degradation of the portals of the DDT, the DDETSPP and the administrative city” during new actions carried out in Agen last week by the Rural Coordination, the prefect told AFP, confirming information from the newspaper Sud Ouest. He did it “in accordance with the instructions received from the Minister of the Interior, recommending support for demonstrations while respecting the freedom to demonstrate, but the greatest firmness when they cause damage to property”.

In Creuse, the OFB filed two complaints following incidents that occurred on November 19 during an action by the same agricultural union on its premises, during which a door was broken and several rooms ransacked. “There is a first complaint for damage and another for intimidation and threats”confirmed Morgan Pochoday, departmental head of the OFB, to an AFP correspondent. Lively exchanges between farmers and representatives of the OFB also punctuated this action punctuated by a dumping of trash.