third day of mobilization, the government condemns blockages and damage

The mobilization of farmers entered its third day with the Rural Coordination at work in the South-West and on the Spanish border, the government condemning damage and blockages on Wednesday “not acceptable” in six departments Tuesday evening.

The Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard declared on Wednesday on France 2 that the “acts of degradation, blockage at the Spanish border” at the initiative of the Rural Coordination (CR), the second agricultural union, were not “not acceptable” and risked starting the ” sympathy “ of the French towards the profession.

“Attacking property, attacking people, permanently blocking the country, that is not acceptable. And I say this to the members of the Rural Coordination who, in six departments of France last night, engaged in acts of degradation, of blockage at the Spanish border”said Ms. Genevard, adding that this could “dissipate” the “movement of sympathy that the French have for farmers”.

“I think it’s not reasonable and it doesn’t serve the agricultural cause”she added.

On the A9 motorway in particular, at the Boulou tollbooth (Pyrénées-Orientales), CR farmers established a roadblock on Tuesday, blocking goods trucks but allowing cars to pass, around ten kilometers from the Spanish border.

“We are going to block the A9, but also the fuel depots, the ports, the purchasing centers. We want to cause chaos and a food shortage”had assured Serge Bousquet-Cassagne, figure of this union in the South-West, present in Boulou.

On the A9, “river of fruits and vegetables arriving from Spain”he said he was considering “a lasting blockage (…) over several days”.

Debate on the Mercosur agreement

In Agen, some 350 to 400 demonstrators (police figures) gathered on Tuesday in front of the prefecture, where manure and waste were dumped, just like in front of the Limoges prefecture, according to the authorities.

A delegation was received in the Lot-de-Garonne prefecture. But for lack of having obtained “strong commitments” of the Minister of Agriculture, the two leaders of CR47, Karine Duc and José Perez, had refused to leave the premises and finally “had to be escorted by the police, without incident”wrote the prefecture in a press release published after 11 p.m.

Authorities also report another “blocking point” still in place Wednesday morning in Charleville-Mézières.

The French Biodiversity Office (OFB) for its part denounced “damage” of its premises in Oise and Creuse on Tuesday.

Less than a year after a historic mobilization, agricultural unions believe they have not made enough progress.

They also fear an imminent ratification of a free trade agreement between the European Union and Latin American Mercosur countries.

On Tuesday, however, after the first two days of action, the majority alliance FNSEA-Young Farmers (JA) welcomed “a first victory” after the announcement of the holding of a debate followed by a vote on November 26 in the National Assembly on the free trade treaty, largely rejected as it stands by the French political class.

“We are several important countries in Europe which are not today ready to sign this agreement as it stands”also assured Emmanuel Macron at the end of the G20 summit in Rio.

Wednesday morning, however, the boss of the FNSEA Arnaud Rousseau announced on franceinfo a new mobilization of his troops “Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday” next ones.

The FNSEA-Young Farmers alliance avoided organizing blockages like last year, favoring symbolic actions to “don’t bore the French”.

“More offensive”

According to the authorities, 30 actions were carried out during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, bringing together 1,930 farmers and 512 machines, without incident or arrest.

From the same source, Tuesday was “marked by the mobilization of the Rural Coordination union demonstrating a decidedly more offensive and determined state of mind than that of the JA or the FDSEA”while the CR is holding its national congress in parallel in Vienne, where he has chaired the chamber of agriculture since 2019.

During the next professional elections, scheduled for January, the CR intends to steal other chambers from the FNSEA-JA alliance, which it criticizes in particular for being too close to agro-industry and successive governments.

In the absence of satisfactory responses from the State, the union is calling for food freight to be blocked from Wednesday. It could in particular target mass distribution purchasing centers in Charente, Landes or Tarn-et-Garonne.