Tons of slurry, tires and other agricultural waste were dumped this Wednesday in front of the Agen prefecture, in Lot-et-Garonne. Between 200 and 300 farmers, accompanied by several dozen tractors, demonstrated to denounce the increase in their charges, in particular the taxation of non-road diesel (GNR), at the call of the Rural Coordination (CR).
The office of deputy Michel Lauzzana (Renaissance) and several administrative buildings including the departmental territorial directorate, the veterinary services directorate and the public finance center and the judicial court were also targeted. There were “more than 300” according to the Rural Coordination, “nearly 200” according to the prefecture, which identified 80 tractors.
A “double talk” from the government
“I disapprove of this form of protest and these actions without consultation,” reacted Michel Lauzzana in a press release, assuring that “massive resources” have been allocated by the State to “support” farmers. The CR, the majority agricultural union in Lot-et-Garonne, denounces the announced end of the GNR tax exemption for farmers, the increase in all taxes and in particular the property tax on unbuilt buildings and on agricultural land , as well as the reduction in compensatory aid from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
“All the charges exploded,” notes Karine Duc, co-president of CR47. “We are finding it more and more difficult to get by. We also note the drop in CAP aid and payment delays. » Serge Bousquet-Cassagne, figure of Rural Coordination and president of the department’s chamber of agriculture, denounces a “double discourse” of the government: according to him, it is “the ‘at the same time’ of Macron, of a on the other hand we want competitive agriculture and food sovereignty, and on the other hand we are being taxed more and more.”
“We are all in survival mode, some have dark thoughts”, adds Karine Duc who asks the government “to maintain the GNR tax exemption” to “face foreign competition on products which are not subject to the same constraints as We “. The farmers ended their demonstration with a snail operation on the A62 motorway which links Bordeaux to Toulouse.
On Tuesday, around 150 farmers had already demonstrated in Auch (Gers) to denounce the increase in their production costs, in particular the price of GNR, which must increase gradually until 2030.