The farmers are coming back and they are not happy. Here again are the tractors, the skips and the machines, the town entrance signs turned over or covered up and the great declarations of love of the political class for the farmers. We had somewhat lost sight of these tractors that drive through the streets of cities since the major demonstrations of winter 2023-2024.
Despite the efforts of the government, which gives in on almost all subjects (single administrative control or emergency cash flow aid, with a simplified access condition of 20% drop in turnover, for example ), agricultural anger has continued to rise since the winter of 2023-2024. After a terrible year from the point of view of yields and profitability of farms and a big disappointment with the Agricultural Orientation Law, which was lost for a long time in the limbo of the electoral calendar, this anger was only waiting for a spark to overflow again.
6:50 p.m.: 43 tractors and 17 tippers
Farmers gather at the crossroads. According to law enforcement, there are 43 tractors and 17 dumpsters on site. These are full and should leave empty…
6:30 p.m.: Farmers are at the crossroads of Europe
Tractors from all over the department arrive in Troyes. The plan for farmers is to first gather at the crossroads of Europe – which was not chosen at random – at 6:30 p.m. We do not yet know how many agricultural machines are expected but there could be quite a few.
Firecrackers, horns, foghorns… and very full skips that don't smell like roses: the farmers did not come empty-handed.
Before 8 p.m., farmers should light a large pyre at the crossroads of Europe as well as at every gathering point throughout France.
6:15 p.m.: Farmers arrive at the crossroads of Europe
The gathering at the crossroads of Europe in Troyes is being prepared. According to the police present on site, a column is arriving via Saint-Parres-aux-Tertres and at least two other columns are on the way.
Traffic is not yet blocked even if the Route des Écrevoles towards the crossroads of Europe is being closed. The national police are already planning traffic disruptions and are urging caution.
4:45 p.m.: Policies to support farmers
When farmers are angry, it is rare that local elected officials do not come to support them. This is still the case this fall. The first to publicly open the ball for the current sequence was Senator Évelyne Perrot, during a question to the government, asked on November 13. With this question (very applauded, according to the Senate minutes) on Mercosur, she recalled the absence of mirror clauses and asked if the government was ready to “impose the French veto on the conclusion of this agreement”. On Friday, November 15, it was the deputy for the second constituency, Valérie Bazin-Malgras, who published a press release of support: “I have always voted against these free trade treaties which are unjust and inequitable and do not respect the daily work of our farmers”she assures. The same day, the Region announced an aid plan of 9 million euros to support farmers facing the climate and health crises. During the general assembly of rural mayors of Aube, Saturday November 16, the president of the Department, Philippe Pichery, took up the torch, emphasizing how difficult the year had been for the department's farmers.
4:10 p.m.: Fédé tractors are on the roads
At the call of the Departmental Federation of Farmers' Unions and the Young Farmers of Aube, the first tractors took the road to Troyes from the different cantons of the department. From Bar-sur-Aube, for example, the tractors were at Vendeuvre-sur-Barse just before 4 p.m., according to Samuel Rouilleaux, secretary general of the Fédé, who will arrive from the canton of Brienne-le-Château “passing through Piney”a first assembly point being fixed at the hamlet of Rachisy. All these tractors must converge towards the crossroads of Europe, in Troyes, shortly after 6 p.m.
12:30 p.m.: The Conference opens the ball
This Monday, November 18, at 12:30 p.m., activists from the Confédération paysanne placed several dozen stickers on the facade and window of the Groupama agency in Saint-André-les-Vergers. This action was intended to support market gardeners, “greatly forgotten” of climate insurance reform. For the union, a minority in Aube (12.79% of the votes of the college of operators in the 2019 professional elections), the government and the FNSEA “have privatized the management of climate risks, abandoning many parts of agriculture” with the agricultural orientation law, which must pass before the Senate on January 14, 2025.
