Strasbourg, Arras, Cahors… Farmers still mobilized this Monday

Here we go again for a (tractor) ride. After a first week of mobilization, farmers are continuing their actions this Monday to denounce the agreement with Mercosur and protest against excessive standards. In Arras (Pas-de-Calais), angry farmers targeted the prefecture mid-morning by dumping bales of straw, pallets, tires and manure in front of the gates.

In the Ardennes, the FDSEA carried out actions against the prefecture of Charleville-Mézières and the sub-prefectures of Sedan, Rethel and Vouziers. According to the prefecture, 121 tractors and 178 farmers were mobilized in the department. With concrete blocks and cement, “we are going to build walls to represent the distance which separates the farmer and the administration”, declared Thierry Huet, facilitator of the FDSEA des Ardennes.

An action in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg

In Vierzon in the Cher, several dozen farmers responded to the call from Rural Coordination by installing two filter dams on the A20 motorway linking Toulouse to Paris in order to target French and foreign refrigerated heavy goods vehicles. This will also stir things up in Strasbourg where a procession of tractors from Haute-Saône is expected in the coming hours to block the entrances to the European Parliament.

In the Paris region, entries were also filtered early this Monday morning near a food logistics center to control trucks transporting foreign products. Ditto in Cahors (Lot) where freight trucks were checked by Rural Coordination at the exit of the A20 motorway. Still in the South-West, a gathering is also planned for this Monday afternoon in front of the prefecture of Périgueux (Dordogne) to “welcome” the new prefect who has just taken office.

Actions will intensify from Tuesday

If the mobilization of farmers is quite timid this Monday, it should intensify this week with new actions planned for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday by the FNSEA and the Young Farmers (JA). The actions will target in particular prefectures, water agencies or the offices of the French Biodiversity Office. “Almost all departments plan to take action in the coming days,” warned the JA.

The Rural Coordination, which has multiplied its splashes in recent days, also plans to “amplify” its mobilization beyond the South-West where its actions have been concentrated in recent days. A ditch cleaning operation in the Hautes-Alpes and the continuation of the blocking of distributors’ purchasing centers are announced for Tuesday.