Despite the executive taking charge of the matter, the anger of the agricultural world has not subsided. Blocked roads, soon radar coverings…: supported by a large part of the political class, French farmers are not giving up to obtain “concrete measures” from the government of Gabriel Attal who welcomed the majority unions Monday evening for a little more two hours, without announcements at the exit.
There will be “no lifting of the actions” carried out by farmers as long as there are “no concrete decisions” from the executive, declared Monday at the end of this meeting the president of the FNSEA Arnaud Rousseau, now the pressure.
“We expect the Prime Minister to be able to make a certain number of declarations this week that will move the lines significantly,” he said, referring in particular to the subject of an immediate rebate on diesel for tractors, instead of a refund on invoice and declaration.
Attal commits to meeting farmers
The Prime Minister wants to “go quickly”, “within the week” for certain announcements, for his part affirmed the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau, who spoke after the FNSEA and the Young Farmers union at the end of the meeting . “I believe that we objectively share the diagnosis,” added the minister, for whom “the farmers need it to be translated into action”, before indicating that Gabriel Attal is committed to meeting them.
On the ground, many farmers complain of being overwhelmed by standards and of not earning a good enough living. Among the multiple demands: administrative simplifications, no new ban on pesticides, stopping increasing the price of diesel for tractors, being compensated more quickly after calamities or even the full application of the law supposed to oblige industrialists and large areas to pay farmers better.
Young farmers launch actions
The road blockages began in Occitanie where, since Thursday evening, the A64 between Toulouse and Bayonne has been cut off to traffic at Carbonne in Haute-Garonne. It should therefore remain so this Tuesday.
Since Monday, the A62 has also been blocked at Agen in both directions. Farmers also dumped tires on the railway tracks at the entrance to Agen station, where traffic has been blocked since around 6:15 p.m. And the movement could spread: the Young Farmers of Oise announced a blockade of the A16 motorway this Tuesday at the beginning of the afternoon near Beauvais.
“No evacuation of the blockages by the police is planned at this stage because there is no damage,” assured the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin. According to a police source, “a few hundred” farmers are mobilized but “if there is no response from the authorities, there could be a radicalization of actions”.