Several dozen tractors converged on Rodez to oppose the Mercosur treaty and denounce the lack of action by the State, mountains of tires and hay were dumped at the Aveyron prefecture.
“We wanted to get back on the ground to make ourselves heard, and there is Mercosur at the same time.” Regretting “simple measures” from the government after the mobilization at the beginning of the year, and while the highly criticized free trade treaty is on the agenda at the G20 summit, farmers did not have the I intend to leave it there. With a clear target this Tuesday, November 19, 2024: “the State must take its responsibilities”.
This is why the farmers, at the call of the Rural Coordination, were instructed to converge towards the prefecture of Rodez. A slow rise in anger which started from Cassagnes-Bégonhes, where a first gathering was planned. “It’s just us for the moment, but when we arrive there will be a hundred of us,” assures Théo Alary, a dairy sheep breeder in Arvieu, who takes us in his tractor. If a little more than ten machines have left Cassagnes, the start of the convoy is gradually collecting more on the road.
“Some will join us directly in Rodez because in the morning, we have to take care of the farm,” explains Théo Alary, while showing a tractor in a field near Luc-la-Primaube, which displays its name in capital letters. support for the movement, and whose owner will join Rodez by his own means at midday. First at La Roque then at the entrance to Luc-la-Primaube, the convoy doubled then tripled in size. Before the final straight on the dual carriageway between Olemps and Rodez, nearly fifty tractors were in motion.
If the machines are traveling at slow speed, not a single annoying horn is sounded at the convoy. “We see that we are supported. You see, since the start of the demonstrations, we have seen thumbs up, smiles, applause.” This is confirmed on the road as well as when entering Rodez.
“It will be cheaper to source in South America than in Aveyron…”
If the Mercosur treaty is signed as is, this will mean “a drop in the prices of meat and all other products, that’s certain,” explains Théo Alary. But problem: “This was the case with the treaty in New Zealand on lambs, a few years ago, there was a free fall. You look at the sheep meat farms in Aveyron, it has decreased. Is this likely to happen again, because it will be cheaper for consumers or supermarkets to get their supplies from South America rather than from Aveyron? That's still incredible.”
An unacceptable situation for farmers who, as promised, ended up gathering several dozen tractors in Rodez, with the arrival of a second convoy which came from North Aveyron. The machines took possession of the Place d'Armes, at the foot of the cathedral, with the intention of spending the night there. “Wednesday, we will head towards Toulouse, to blockade. Where exactly, we don’t know yet…”
Mountains of waste
A trip to Rodez to show off to the residents, and to send a message to the State. Almost all the tractors were loaded with tires and bales of straw, in very large quantities, ready to redecorate the prefecture of Rodez. Promise kept.
“The prefecture wanted us to unload in front. But the town hall wanted us to unload inside instead,” the demonstrators told us. For good reason: the town hall would have been responsible for cleaning if the dumpster loads had been dumped in front of the prefecture gate, when the latter will be responsible for it if the goods are inside. So don't be jealous… Using a backhoe loader, the loads were thrown over the gate. A mountain of waste which transformed the prefecture square into a recycling center.
Not without causing slight damage. One of the vases that adorns the gate of the prefecture suffered the brunt and ended up falling from its perch into the tires. A point of divergence which heated up tempers on site. The farmers then strapped down the large pot and used the backhoe to return it to its place.
The numerous spills in front of the prefecture turned into a spectacle. Each tractor wanted its load to end up on the square or behind the gates, the skips followed one by one on Place Charles de Gaulle under the gaze of passers-by, phones ready to film and farmers. From the outset, the demonstrators made themselves comfortable by pushing the boxes of flowers, so as to let the tractors and trucks pass.
Around 5 p.m., the prefecture square was deserted. In the inner courtyard, the mountain of tires was almost at the height of the gate.
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