Farmer protests intensify in south-west France

Farmers in south-west of France staged protests against the government over the weekend saying they are fed up with, what they see as, a “lack of concrete and sustainable measures in the face of difficulties”.

Around 60 farmers unloaded sheep's wool, bales of hay, and piles of straw and manure in front of government buildings in Auch (Gers, Occitanie) on October 18. Farmers also drove tractors in the streets, and beeped their horns in protest.

The action came after a call from the farming union Coordination rurale.

"Load your tractors, tarp them up, spray them with yellow paint, in short: empty your farms, it's time to make our point,” said Lionel Candelon, regional president of the Coordination rurale in Occitanie, ahead of the action.

Similarly, la Fédération Nationale des Syndicats d'Exploitants Agricoles (FNSEA) and the Jeunes Agriculteurs (JA) dismantled signs at the entrances and exits of communes in several departments, to show their support for the movement.

In Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne), 70 farmers carried out a symbolic protest in front of the prefecture, placing 250 signs at the entrances to the department's communes.

All parties have denounced what they see as a “lack of concrete and sustainable measures in the face of difficulties facing the profession” and the “multiple economic, climatic, social and health crises”.

Mr Candelon gave an example of the lack of measures. He told Europe 1: “A fortnight ago, we were told that we'd be getting a free vaccine against the bluetongue [virus], but in fact we've realised that there's been a shortage of vaccines for two months now, that we don't have them and that we'll never get them.” 

“We've had enough of empty promises and announcements that don't actually deliver anything. So at the end of the day, people are fed up,” he said.

Another farmer said: “The state is disengaging. We have to comply with more and more standards, and that means less margin and less income at the end of the day. I'm worried about future generations.”

More protests and farmer ‘agony’

Farmers in Foix (Ariège) are planning more action tonight (October 21).

Farmers are also warning that the action could intensify between now and the end of the year.

“If no progress is made after the sowing of wheat in three weeks’ time, we'll move on to bigger and better actions,” said the president of the Tarn-et-Garonne Young Farmers‘ Association, to the AFP. 

“I often get calls from farmers who are in agony and who have bailiffs at their door, so this can't go on any longer.”

Read also: Will farmer roadblocks return? French union angered by lack of action 

Blockades and droughts

The new action comes less than a year after farmers protested via road blockades and other demonstrations in the Toulouse region in the winter of 2023. Then-Prime Minister Gabriel Attal visited the area afterwards. 

Read also: Travel disrupted around France as farmers blockade Paris and Lyon 
Read also: Farmers plan more motorway blockades, claims French protest leader 

This year, the new Minister for Agriculture, Annie Genevard, visited the Pyrénées-Orientales department on Thursday October 17, this time focusing on the situation of winegrowers, who are also suffering due to drought conditions.