The government's announcements have clearly not convinced.
Despite the promises of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Wednesday, supposed to improve the daily lives of French farmers, several protest movements continue or were launched this Thursday morning in France, 48 hours before the Agricultural Show.
They believe that they have not been completely heard, and that the implementation of the announced measures is not fast enough.
“If we are here, it is because we have not been heard,” said Wednesday, after the government's announcements, a farmer on the roadway of the A62 motorway, blocked since Tuesday afternoon.
This Thursday morning, the mobilization on site was still in progress, blocking traffic from Agen to Montauban in both directions.
07h07 ⚠️Due to a demonstration, motorway #A62 between Agen n°7 and Montauban n°10 in both directions is cut.
Dir Toulouse: ⛔Entry prohibited and ➡️exit obligatory in Agen (n°7).
Dir° Bordeaux: ⛔Entry prohibited and ➡️exit obligatory in Montauban (n°10).
— A62 Motorway (@A62Trafic) February 22, 2024
In Gironde, the winegrowers of the Viti 33 collective launched several actions this Thursday morning in Landiras and Langon.
They are targeting a mass distribution center and a wine merchant, explains France Bleu.
The local media counted around thirty tractors, but also cars converging towards Langon from 5 a.m.
On social networks, Viti 33 calls for “fairly sharing the value and margins” of agricultural products.
The Isère prefecture warned on Wednesday evening that actions would disrupt road traffic on Thursday in Villette-d'Anthon.
And this Thursday morning, Dauphiné Libéré noted the presence of tractors in front of the Leclerc store in the town.
The farmers present say they could occupy the premises until Friday evening.
In the Auvergne Rhône Alpes region, a total of five blockade points are planned for this Thursday, Michel Joux, president of the FRSEA, said on BFMTV, “to put pressure on the government but also on the economic system”.
In Aveyron, a parade of tractors is due to reach Rodez this Thursday, for a picnic in front of the Chamber of Agriculture and a “funeral march”.
“Livestock being largely absent from the new State proposals, we must continue to put pressure on the various organizations which drain us and from which we want a profound reform”, writes the Occitan peasants collective 12 on its page Facebook.
We are ready
Published by Collectif Paysans Occitans 12 on Wednesday February 21, 2024
The NGO Greenpeace also took action this Thursday morning in Sarthe, to denounce “agribusiness”.
Activists demolished the logo of the poultry company LDC at the group's headquarters.
“We are debunking the REAL people responsible for the agricultural crisis!
», they write on X.
“They show us that we must continue to work”
Already on Wednesday evening, 200 demonstrators entered the headquarters of Lactalis, in Laval (Mayenne), at the call of the Confédération paysanne, to denounce the practices of the giant of the dairy industry and demand better remuneration for breeders.
They were evacuated during the night.
At the same time, several dozen Breton farmers dumped earth in front of the Ille-et-Vilaine prefecture in Rennes in particular to demand “real announcements”.
Roads were also blocked in Côtes-d'Armor and Gers in the evening.
This Thursday morning, several interchanges still remained closed in the latter department.
An action is also planned for Friday: a parade of tractors will go to the gates of the Agricultural Show, which is due to open this Saturday in Paris.
Asked this Thursday morning about the discontent of farmers, government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot preferred to highlight the announcements made in recent days.
For her, the current actions are a way “of saying that we must continue to work to defend French agriculture”, the farmers act “because they show us that we must continue to work”, assures She.