As of: February 2, 2024, 3:56 p.m
By: Carmen Mörwald
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In protest, farmers removed foreign products from French supermarkets.
They wanted to denounce “unfair competition”.
Pau – Anyone who went shopping in one of the supermarkets in the French city of Pau or the surrounding area on Thursday (February 1st) had to be content with a sparse selection.
The reason for this is a protest by farmers in France.
They confiscated foreign products and emptied supermarket shelves.
Farmers in France confiscate foreign products: The action is not well received everywhere
According to media reports, the “Jeunes Agriculteurs” (Young Farmers) union is responsible for this.
The aim was to denounce “unfair competition” in the agricultural sector, says the
Sud Ouest
portal .
In an attached video you can see several men storming a supermarket with shopping carts.
A video published on the X platform (formerly Twitter) also shows two young men from the union emptying the shelves of a supermarket.
Their shopping carts are piled high with products that don't come from France.
Only a fraction of the range on offer remains.
Angry farmers, empty supermarket shelves: background to the protest
But it wasn't just the supermarket shelves that became the target of their protests: farmers in France were already blocking roads, looting trucks and dumping manure in public places and in front of buildings.
Unlike in Germany, they are not demanding a departure from the government's austerity plans, but rather specifically better working and living conditions.
French farmers argue that they are struggling with higher prices for fertilizer and energy because of the war in Ukraine.
The president of the agricultural union, Arnaud Rousseau, explains that a list of 140 demands has been presented.
This includes, among other things, the waiver of certain environmental regulations.
France's largest agricultural unions are calling for further promises of aid to end the protests.
© Christophe Ena/dpa
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On the same day of the protest in the supermarkets, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced a package of measures at a press conference in Paris.
This contains, among other things:
Financial aid worth 150 million euros annually for livestock breeders
A ban on imports of fruits and vegetables treated with the pesticide thiacloprid
A revision of the planned law to reduce the use of pesticides
Checks in all major supermarkets to ensure fair prices are maintained
Following the government's promises of aid, the agricultural unions are now calling for the farmers to temporarily end the protests.
Instead of blocking, the ministries and local authorities want to work on the points announced by the government, said Arnaud Gaillot from the “Jeunes Agriculteurs” union.
It wasn't until January 31st that German farmers in Göttingen protested again against the traffic light government's cuts.
Around 100 tractors came to the Lower Saxony city for the campaign.
(cln)