Since last Sunday, Tarn motorists and passing tourists have been wondering if they haven’t pushed too hard on the Gaillac or if they haven’t confused porcini mushrooms with hallucinogenic mushrooms. But, no, their heads are not upside down. These are the town entrance signs which are inverted after being unbolted at night and put back in their place. From Castres to Albi, from the Montagne Noire to Carmausin, the “panel gang” operated in around 200 municipalities before revealing its identity Thursday evening on the social networks.
These “unscrewings” are the work of the Tarn farmers of the FDSEA and the Young Farmers, who rather than “blocking a highway” chose this happening to explain to the government that “common sense” often comes from the land. “Our message is that we walk on our heads,” explains 20 minutesCédric Vaute co-secretary general of the FDSEA 11.
Increase in agricultural fuel
Operators are “tired” of being asked to do “everything and its opposite”. For example, explains the farmer, “we are increasing taxes on non-road diesel [GNR] by asking us to consume less. On the other hand, we are asked to use fewer phytosanitary products. But mechanical weeding necessarily consumes more fuel.” The union leader is not against electric tractors. “But they have three to four hours of battery life. Who works three to four hours a day? »…
The symbolic operation is in any case effective in plowing the ground for demands. Moreover, rural communities have chosen to leave the panels upside down.