farmers, the same anger… an explosion of demands

Less than a year after a historic mobilization of farmers in France, which resulted in motorway blockages, agricultural unions are calling on their members to demonstrate again. This Monday, November 18, several gatherings are taking place across the country. In the sights of the agricultural sector? The signing of a free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the Mercosur countries which could take place during the G20 summit.

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If the entire agricultural sector stands together to mark its opposition to this treaty which has been under discussion for 20 years, a symbol of unfair competition against French production, the demands raised last year during the demonstrations have not disappeared. radars. And it was not the emergency aid and government announcements of a few months ago that helped to calm very deep anger. Farmers always denounce bureaucracy and low income. But the latter are also overwhelmed by poor harvests and losses linked to emerging animal diseases.

« For us, the objective is to put pressure on the public authorities to ensure that our demands around the dignity of our profession, around the question of income, around the question of the simplification of our life at daily and finally around the promotion of food sovereignty are heard », explained the boss of the FNSEA Arnaud Rousseau during a press conference, Wednesday November 13, which launched the start of the planned mobilization “ until mid-December ».

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But while farmers do not form a homogeneous group, are the demands of the different agricultural sectors the same depending on the profession? Milk producers do not necessarily ask for the same things as wine growers. And the grievances also differ depending on the region. “ In Occitanie and New Aquitaine, the level of anger is higher. The more tense situation », recognized Arnaud Rousseau in particular in his speech. We take stock of the main sectors mobilized in recent months.

Sheep and cattle breeders

Several animal diseases are currently affecting French livestock farms. Since August, breeders have been particularly affected by bluetongue (BFT) – a viral disease transmitted by a midge. After appearing in the north of France, it very quickly spread throughout the country until there were more than 7,000 homes on our soil at the end of October. With one worry: the virus affects the fertility of ewes and rams. Enough to threaten the reproduction and income of farmers in the long term. The disease also affects cattle to a lesser extent, which could lead to a reduction in milk production.

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The impact of this disease will only be known from next year if we take into account the gestation time of the animals, but concern about a loss of operations is already present among breeders. If the purchase of vaccines has already been taken care of by the State with an order of 11.7 million doses – while 2 million additional vaccines must be ordered by the Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard –, the breeders are currently only compensated for their dead animals (330 euros per ewe) and are waiting for their shortfall to also be compensated. Other fears agitate French breeders: epizootic hemorrhagic disease and avian flu.

Milk producers

They should also join the ranks of the current mobilization. Some milk producers even mobilized on Wednesday, November 13 in front of the Haute-Marne prefecture at the call of the Departmental Federation of Milk Producers. In question? Lactalis' announcement to reduce the volume of milk collected by nearly 9% in France by 2030 – or 450 million fewer liters of milk collected each year in France –, with a view to ” better pay for each ton of milk “. A massive blow for farmers, particularly in the south of Pays de la Loire and the east of France.

In mid-February, the Association of Independent Milk Producers (APLI) demonstrated in front of the National Assembly to warn elected officials “ on the dramatic situation faced by dairy farmers in France “. On this occasion, the breeders demanded market regulation for a “ fair price » milk. The president of the APLI Adrien Lefèvre had also denounced “ government responses missing the point » a few weeks before the mobilization of farmers… But in the same movement he also felt that the demands of the FNSEA and the Young Farmers (JA) were ” really too technical ”, with proposals too focused on “ reductions in burdens and constraints ».

The winegrowers

Angry winegrowers are also mobilizing. In Gironde, around thirty wine growers in great difficulty gathered in front of the headquarters of the Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur wine union at the call of the “Viti 33” collective on Thursday, November 14. An action which is part of the mobilizations already underway against trading and mass distribution.

This time, it was a question of the winegrowers most mired in the crisis targeting their own union, the parent company of the Bordeaux appellations, in an unprecedented way. Many winegrowers will mobilize in Occitanie, a region hit by climatic hazards which have had a strong impact on the wine harvest.

READ ALSO: In Bordeaux, a never-ending crisis for winegrowers

Since the start of the September school year, wine growers in the Cognac and Armagnac sector have also been particularly mobilized. And for good reason, the latter are caught between the fires of Brussels and Beijing, threatened by new Chinese taxes whose additional duties could increase by 34.8% in the months to come. During a demonstration in Charente on September 16, more than 1,500 representatives of the sector mobilized at the call of the General Union of Winegrowers for the AOC Cognac (UGVC) to demand new negotiations.

The cereal growers

For the French cereal industry, the past year was catastrophic… even recording its worst wheat harvest in 40 years. The collapse is particularly very significant in the South-West – once again – where certain sectors reach between minus 30 and up to minus 48% according to estimates from Agreste, the statistical service of the Ministry of Agriculture. The bad weather recorded recently has not helped the autumn harvests and the preparation of next year's sowing… while many players in the sector declare that they are already working at a loss.

Because global production is maintained in terms of volumes in 2024. Enough to fuel low prices for wheat – around 200 euros per tonne. French cereal producers are therefore forced to sell off their production, failing to find buyers at a profitable price… And this is reflected in their cash flow, with an unprecedented drop in their turnover.

Faced with these disastrous harvests, farmers have been asking for the possibility of taking out loans guaranteed by the State since the start of the school year to continue carrying out their activity.

Beekeepers

Bee breeders join the anger of the entire agricultural sector. This Friday, November 15, beekeepers from across the PACA region blocked the entrance to the premises of the National Forestry Office (ONF) in Aix-en-Provence with hives. They accuse unfair regulations regarding the installation of their hives in forest areas.

The president of the FNSEA beekeeping commission Éric Lelong denounced a convention which will “ kill professional beekeeping in the middle of a national forest » and in particular the fact of “ impose density rules » – i.e. the number of hives per location and the distances. Global warming, arrival of the Asian hornet… The context of beekeeping is already complicating the yields of apiaries.

READ ALSO: Organic milk: why the sector is in crisis (and how to get out of it)

Organic producers

Could the free trade treaty against Mercosur push the organic sector, in crisis, to mobilize strongly? At the end of the large-scale mobilization of the agricultural sector last January, the Federation of Organic Agriculture (Fnab) called for demonstrations in front of the National Assembly, believing that organic agriculture had been “ abandoned by the government “. During the announcements which allowed the lifting of the farmers' barriers, the main association representing the sector found that Gabriel Attal had not taken into account the demands of organic producers.

« Organic farmers feel like they are the ones left out in the negotiations. If the request for an organic emergency plan did appear in the demands, organics were not defended up to their real losses », denounced Fnab.