For more than ten days they have been demonstrating, erecting roadblocks, carrying out strike operations… Thousands of farmers are still mobilized this Tuesday across France, particularly around Paris. A general anger which denounces pell-mell the lack of remuneration, consideration, workforce, the excess of regulations. And the general impression of exhausting oneself at the task for a very meager result.
But while the profession is often presented as a priesthood that offers no respite, what do the farmers who demonstrate do to keep the shop running? Who takes care of the crops and animals left on the farm? We asked them the question.
“I get up at 5 a.m., so at 9 a.m. I can go demonstrate”
“We must not believe that we are showing cheerfulness,” immediately introduces Natacha Guillemet, who was part of the mobilization last Thursday in Rennes. For this breeder of Parthenais cows in Vendée, pounding the pavement is a sacrifice: “To make our anger heard, we are forced to abandon our farms”. But no choice, according to her: “we have the impression of being serfs in the service of vassals”. As is often the case, it’s the family that takes over. “I’m lucky, my husband and my son are there,” explains the member of the Rural Coordination.
Family is also the crutch of Antoine Gomel, farmer and breeder near Boulogne-sur-Mer, in Pas-de-Calais. But for someone who “starts working on direct sales to improve (his) remuneration, it is impossible to leave for more than a day”. The family’s helping hand therefore allows him to participate in occasional actions, like Saturday in Arras. “In this case, I get up at 5 o’clock. That way at 9 a.m., I can go and demonstrate, and I’ll catch up in the evening and the next day. »
“I have cameras on the roof connected to my phone”
Isabelle Descombe can only count on herself, she works alone. On his farm in Bourg-Bruche (Bas-Rhin) specializing in the breeding of sheep and suckler cows, it is the calving period. So going to demonstrate is not easy. “The last time I was able to go there, I was monitoring operations from the dam in Strasbourg, because I have cameras on the roof of my building connected to my phone. But here, I have a ewe that lambed this morning, and another that won’t be long, so it’s not possible. »
Delegate to a farmer from another farm? “Difficult, it’s not too easy. Generally, among farmers for whom several people work on the farm, it is the latter who will be overloaded with work to make up for this lack of labor. » Sylvie Colas knows communicating vases. “We are three partners, they are the ones who replace me, they charge a lot,” confides this Gersoise who does poultry, market gardening and cereals. We organize ourselves: I spend three days on my land, four days in Paris. Physically, it’s a challenge. »
In this fight, there is still a little boost in terms of calendar. The tractors used in the blockages, “these are machines which are only used for working in the fields,” explains Antoine Gomel. And at the moment, we don’t need it because it’s a slow period for agricultural work.”