Terrible drama this morning around 5:30 a.m. this Tuesday, January 23, 2024, a vehicle entered national road 20 currently blocked by farmers near Pamiers in Ariège. The car drove at high speed into the straw wall erected by the demonstrators. A farmer died. Her teenage daughter and her husband were seriously injured.
As it mobilizes to save their profession, the agricultural world is in mourning this Tuesday, January 23. Around 5:30 a.m., a tragic incident took place early on at the farmers’ blockade point in Pamiers in Ariège.
According to information from our journalist Geoffrey Berg, a car drove into the demonstrators, leaving one dead and two seriously injured at the RD119 bridge, where the farmers were located.
An accident quickly confirmed by the president of the FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau. An Ariège farmer Alexandra S. in her thirties died after being struck down by the vehicle. In its mad rush, the car also hit her husband and her teenage daughter, who were seriously injured.
The event occurred around 5:30 a.m. Sébastien Durand, vice-president of the Fdsea of Ariège, contacted provides us with some information: “They passed at breakneck speed, on the shoulders of the road, avoiding the concrete blocks. They were coming in the Toulouse-Foix direction.”
Information confirmed by the prosecution. “A car entered the national road near Pamiers which was blocked by farmers. It hit the straw wall erected by the farmers at high speed. The material damage was considerable. At least three people were knocked down , one of them died.”
The prefect of the department quickly went there. 35 firefighters, 13 police officers and 20 gendarmes were mobilized to the scene of the accident. An operational center has been activated in the Ariège prefecture.
The victims are from the village of Saint-Felix-de-Tournegat (Ariège). A difficult accident for farmers who have been very mobilized for several days. “This kind of drama is very difficult to live with,” declared Arnaud Rousseau president of the FNSEA.
“The Young Farmers and the FDSEA of Ariège show their full support to the loved ones and families of the victims”, wrote the Ariège farmers in a press release.
The Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau also reacted this morning on social networks.
As part of union action to defend her profession and express her expectations, a young farmer died early this morning in Ariège.
I think of her, I think of her partner and her daughter who are still fighting for their lives.
This is a tragedy for all of us.…— Marc Fesneau (@MFesneau) January 23, 2024
The people in the vehicle were heading towards Andorra. They allegedly tried to flee after the accident but were caught by the farmers.
They were then arrested by the police and taken into custody. We still don’t know why they attacked this agricultural roadblock.