The convoy of farmers which left this Tuesday morning in Limoges, in the direction of Rungis, returned to the A20 after having been blocked earlier on this same highway by the gendarmes, according to the Indre prefecture.
“The farmers’ movement continues in the department.
The convoy from Lot-et-Garonne enters the A20 (
which connects Montauban to Vierzon
),” indicated the prefecture of this rural department around 9:30 a.m.
“The highway is closed between interchanges 19 and 14 in the Province Paris direction, and in both directions between 14 and 10 North,” according to the same source.
⚠️⚠️ Developments in the situation
The A20 motorway is now closed between interchanges 19 and 9 in the Paris Province direction.
It remains closed in both directions between interchanges 14 and 11.
— Prefect of Indre (@Prefet36) January 30, 2024
Karine Duc, a 38-year-old winemaker and co-president of the Rural Coordination (CR) of Lot-et-Garonne, which is leading the operation, confirmed that the convoy had returned to the highway.
“We are on the A20 towards Vierzon, we have the convoys which have divided, we are trying to regroup everyone but it is a little complicated”, explained Karine Duc by telephone.
“It was tense this morning, but it’s okay, we negotiated to continue moving forward, we’re going to Vierzon (
Cher
) and we’ll see afterwards,” she added.
Around 200 tractors in the procession
The procession of some 200 tractors was stopped on the highway by mobile gendarmes near Bessines-sur-Gartempe (Haute-Vienne).
“There were around fifty vehicles but as we are on tractors, we broke down the safety barriers to join the old national road which runs along the A20,” said Thomas Hégarty, president of the agricultural union in this department.
The convoy of #AngryFarmers from Lot-et-Garonne is stopped by the CRS 30 km north of Limoges.
The CR47 announces that they will go into force pic.twitter.com/qjlw6HBuft
— La Dépêche 47 (@LaDepeche_47) January 30, 2024
The convoy then split into two or three "but we are trying to regroup", he added during a break on this departmental road in Indre.
“They want to wear us out and try to slow us down.
It’s a good demonstration that they fear us,” added Serge Bousquet-Cassagne, president of the Lot-et-Garonne Chamber of Agriculture and historic figure of the CR47 who launched the movement.
Shortly after 5:15 a.m., more than 200 tractors left Limoges on the A20 towards Paris.
They planned to pass through Orléans before arriving in Rungis “after 4 p.m.”, according to the CR.
According to information from Le Parisien, rural coordination “obtained agreement” from the Ministry of the Interior so that the Lot-et-Garonne convoy can go to Vierzon.
“A barbecue awaits them there, they should be there by 1 p.m.,” confides CR president Véronique Le Floc’h.
That leaves me the morning to find another stop so they can continue ahead.
»
Read alsoTractors, dams, livestock… facing farmers, the balancing act of maintaining order
The president of the union negotiates “live” with Gérald Darmanin and hopes to be vindicated in the coming hours.
“The government lets the FNSEA block Paris, and we wouldn’t have the right to go to Rungis?,” she asks.
We are not savages, but let us express ourselves.
»
Departure Monday morning from Lot-et-Garonne
Leaving this Monday morning from Agen (Lot-et-Garonne) with around thirty tractors, the procession continued to grow along the road.
The farmers ate in the evening at the Haute-Vienne Departmental Chamber of Agriculture, managed by the CR, before sleeping in a gymnasium in Panazol in the Limoges agglomeration.
“The convoys are arriving from all sides, it’s crazy!
», exclaimed this Monday evening the co-president of CR47 José Perez.
“It’s wonderful the welcome we receive at the side of the road.
It feels like the Tour de France,” said Aurélie Armand, vice-president of the union.
From Sunday evening, armored gendarmerie vehicles were deployed near the market of national interest (MIN) in Rungis (Val-de-Marne), which the CR intends to “invest”.
According to the authorities, the police must ensure that it “can work”.