One, two then ten engines from the Jimeno transport refrigeration units (Spain) break the silence in the parking lot of the Total des Minières station in Payré. It is 9 p.m. this Tuesday, December 31, 2024. The fog envelops the truck drivers stranded in France. They organize a New Year's Eve without comfort, right on the asphalt. Ten kilometers further, the Eurocruz competitors are doing the same thing.
In the Payré Minières parking lot, on the night of the 31st to the 1st, there were ten drivers from the same company in the parking lot.
© (Photo NR-CP, Xavier Benoit)
They feel “like at home” but they are not there
The camping table placed under the hood of a tractor fools no one: New Year's Eve or not, it's business as usual for the “centipedes”. Finally, there are extras for this evening: a neon light, appetizers, a little sausage, five bottles of champagne, a Côtes-du-Rhône and some white wine. In this night at 2°C, they try to make themselves “like at home”. But they are not there.
A few glasses of champagne to celebrate this New Year’s Eve in a “warmth” that is more human than meteorological.
© (Photo NR-CP, Xavier Benoit)
Complete rotations between the south of Spain and England
International road transport is parked here. José Costa, 60 years old, “El Frances” (because he was born in Étampes) had gone shopping before the station closed. While waiting for his colleagues to disembark from the N10, he thought of his 30-year-old daughter. A bit sad, José. After three decades on the road, he did not see her grow up in the house in Cartagena (Spain). “She’s with my wife tonight. I see my wife eight days a month. But I'm still married, that's not common in the industry. »
José Costa, 60, only sees his wife eight days in a month. On New Year's Eve, he was buzzing thinking about his daughter at his home in Spain.
© (Photo NR-CP, Xavier Benoit)
Roll more to earn more
José's base salary: €1,200. No “basket” (meal allowances) like in France. But 12 cents per kilometer earned internationally. So he continues the rotations. Like the 120 Jimeno drivers. Roll more to earn more. Three days of climbing between the plastic plains of Almería and England. The fourth day to unload. We recharge in France towards Spain. And so on.
“I had lettuce, broccoli and spinach from Murcia and Almería (Spain). I unloaded in Northampton then in Leeds (England) before reloading 23 tonnes of potatoes in Normanville (France) for Zaragoza (Spain)”illustrates José Costa while holding the cork from a bottle of champagne.
Jess Joway left Belgium to work in Spain: “The road is my passion, I love freedom and solitude. »
© (Photo NR-CP, Xavier Benoit)
“My truck is my life”
There were French potatoes in six trailers that night: 140 tonnes. Drivers drive but don't always understand the logic. “We bring potatoes from France to Spain, we bring them back in the other direction while they grow in both countries! » wonders Jess Joway, 34, the only woman in the group. With 90,000 km traveled in six months, this Belgian of Irish origin does not ask any questions. She rolls. After all, incoherent globalization does not care about the fight against climate change either.
Souvenir photo of the car from La Nouvelle République by José Costa: “Thank you for spending the evening with us,” he repeated.
© (Photo NR-CP, Xavier Benoit)
A couple, two trucks, a sleeper
“They ask themselves the question, our politicians, when they increase air travel? » she rages, puffing on her cigarette. The example should come from the top. She is happy with the bottom, the Renault tractor. “My truck is my life. I like riding, this freedom, the solitude”she says, hugging William Carpentier, 55 years old. They are a couple. They are the only two French speakers in the transport box. “We met at Jimeno’s, it was my Christmas present. We each have our own truck, we often drive together but we sleep in ours! »
Tender moments between truckers in the parking lot.
© (Photo NR-CP, Xavier Benoit)
“Will you tell all that, how we live? »
Jess doesn't seem to suffer from her status as a woman in this world of guys. “If you have balls and character, it’s not complicated. The only difference is hygiene and privacy: when a truck driver pisses on his tire, I can't do it. » Direct. So the discussion goes, one New Year's Eve, in a truck parking lot. Life is tough there. But solidarity fills the discomfort which they are surprised could interest a journalist. “Will you tell all that, how we live? » Oui.
It's really cold in this parking lot. It's 11 p.m. and no one will wait until midnight to wish each other a Happy New Year. Just « good route » (good road) the next day.
