Mobilized throughout France, farmers have been blocking the commercial port of Bordeaux since the evening of Wednesday, November 20. The Rural Coordination, the main union remaining mobilized on the ground, announced Thursday evening that it would lift its blockade, believing that the Prime Minister had responded to its demands on European standards.
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In the southwest of the Francefarmers had been blocking the commercial port of Bordeaux for more than 24 hours. They left the site this Friday because they now believe they have been heard by the government and will clear the port. At the start of the morning, tires on fire, small piles of earth and waste are still across the road, but access to the port will be cleared, reports our special correspondent in Bordeaux, Nicolas Feldmann. The tractors have just returned to the road, escorted by police officers, towards the town of Agen, 150 km away.
They demanded a commitment from the government to align several French standards with those of European neighbors because today, phytosanitary products are used in fields in Spain but banned in France.
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This Thursday before the Senate, the Prime Minister promised to look into these standards. José Perez, co-president of Rural Coordination in Lot-et-Garonne, spoke to RFI: “ We go back, we respect our commitments (…) now, we are going to stick around the table, we are not going to let them go now. We have Mr. Barnier’s number. We only have one word, we hope that Mr Barnier has one too. »
A movement that continues
The blockade of the Bordeaux port, 7th in the country for goods traffic, was the last major action carried out this week. The CR47 had targeted it to denounce the importation of foreign cereals, subject to standards different from those in force in France. But the Bordeaux port authorities informed AFP of their “ incomprehension ”, affirming that “ Bordeaux is a cereal export port serving the regional agricultural sector » and that he “ do not import cereals “.
Another national union official insists that this is not yet the end of the movement since other departments remain mobilized. This is also the case for France’s first agricultural union, the FNSEA, which is calling for a movement next week.
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