A farmer was convicted on Tuesday by the Annecy criminal court for attacking premises housing the offices of France Nature Environnement (FNE) in Haute-Savoie in May 2023, the association said.
Large quantities of slurry and manure had been spread overnight on the facades and parking lot of the building, a “premeditated operation” which followed a first attack on the premises by farmers in November 2021, according to the FNE.
One of the farmers present during the events in May 2023 was found guilty and sentenced to a suspended fine of 10,000 euros and to pay FNE 3,500 euros for damage to its image as well as 750 euros for legal costs, a detailed the association in a press release.
Also read: Between farmers and ecology, why things get so stuck
“We hope that this “verdict” will put an end to the climate of intimidation and insecurity that has weighed on our teams for more than two years,” she underlines, expressing her “relief”.
A slaughter measure at the heart of the conflict
“We call for appeasement and hope for the reestablishment of dialogue between environmental protection associations and the agricultural profession, under the aegis of the Prefect, in order to discuss the subjects that bring us together, like those, in reality a minority, who oppose us,” the FNE further expressed.
At the time of the events, the association had made a link between this attack and its opposition to the planned slaughter of 170 ibexes in the Bargy massif, north of La Clusaz, as part of the fight against brucellosis, a bacterial disease likely to contaminate cows during their summer stay in the mountain pastures.
The slaughter measure, ordered in March by the prefect of Haute-Savoie, was suspended by the administrative court of Grenoble on May 17 following an appeal filed by seven associations including the FNE, provoking the anger of the FDSEA of Savoie.