Act 2 of the agricultural crisis has begun. The unions counted at least 85 mobilizations of farmers throughout France this Monday, November 18 and other actions should follow in the coming days on the roads and in front of the prefectures.
13:34 – Farmers rename French towns after Latin American towns
This is another manifestation of farmers’ anger: the replacement of the names of French towns and associated signs with Brazilian or Argentinian towns. This was done a lot throughout the Cantal department where farmers renamed the municipalities Brasília, Rio and even São Paulo. A clear way to fight against the agreement with Mercosur. Similar actions were carried out in Sarthe.
13:05 – The EU-Mercosur agreement is “unfair competition and a threat to the climate” according to Jadot
While Emmanuel Macron has always said he is opposed to the agreement between the EU and Mercosur, Yannick Jadot welcomed this commitment on the set of BFMTV, but the environmentalist senator from Paris estimated that the head of state “did not do the job at European level” to convince sufficiently and build a “blocking minority”. According to him, France “found itself more and more isolated in its opposition.
However, there is an urgent need to “block this agreement” according to Yannick Jadot for whom the text would lead to “the globalization of climate change and the disappearance of farmers here and in the Mercosur countries”. “It’s the globalization of junk food, pesticides, animal suffering. It’s unfair competition and a threat to the climate,” he also added.
12:43 – Farmer mobilizations in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
Other mobilizations are planned in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. In Vaucluse, the blocking of the Pont de l’Europe in Avignon is very noticeable but farmers could leave the road in the afternoon to head towards the prefecture where a delegation of Young Farmers is to be received. In the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, meet at the end of the day at the Digne-les-Bains star roundabout. On the Var side, tractors gathered in Cannet-des-Maures at the RD 558 near the motorway roundabout and dumped earth on the road.
12:21 – New dumping operation in Bouches-du-Rhône
Farmers also intend to mobilize in Bouches-du-Rhône and an operation to dump skips filled with used tomatoes and rubble is planned in front of the Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea (DDTM) of Salon-de-Provence. The action must take place on Monday evening, around 8:30 p.m. Farmers in the department already carried out similar actions last Friday by dumping manure in front of the Châteaurenard tax center and the Tarascon court.
12:00 – If the EU-Mercosur agreement succeeds, “we have a Europe that catches fire” according to the JA
The vice-president of the Young Farmers’ Union (JA), Pol Devillers, expressed his opposition to the signing of the agreement between the EU and Mercosur on BFMTVconsidering that this is a unanimous opinion for the entire agricultural profession in Europe. “It’s a huge risk that the European Commission is taking because the entire profession at European level is against it. So if this agreement succeeds, we have a Europe that is on fire,” he declared about the consequences of the agreement. But if the rejection of the agreement with Mercosur is one of the main demands of farmers, it is not the only one. Pol Devillers thus questioned the income of farmers, which he considers insufficient: “We cannot have generational renewal by promising our young people an income based on aid. We want to secure income for our farmers and continue to attract young people.
11:47 – A hundred farmers from Héraults gathered in front of the Montpellier prefecture
There are around a hundred farmers from Hérault who have arranged to meet in front of the prefecture in Montpellier as shown in the images of France 3 Occitanie. Present on site since 11 a.m. this morning, they hope to be able to “bring the Prefect down” to discuss with him and tell him about “the real life” of farmers but “always with respect, as usual”, assured a spokesperson for the mobilization.
11:17 – A mobilization in front of the sub-prefecture in Vendée
In Vendée, farmers have been mobilized since dawn in front of the Vendée sub-prefecture, in Fontenay-le-Comte. Between 20 and 30 farmers as well as around ten tractors are present FDSEA joined by France Bleu Loire Océan. Other actions are planned during the day in other towns in Vendée, but also in Loire-Atlantique, another department of Pays de la Loire. Elsewhere in the region, such as in Mayenne, the FDSEA and the JA are calling for rallies in Laval, on the Europe Bridge and on the Avesnières Bridge.
10:50 – 85 mobilizations in France according to the Young Farmers’ Union
“85 demonstration points are getting underway, we do not want a concrete blockage as we saw last year,” declared Pierrick Horel, president of the Young Farmers, this morning on RNC, quoting as examples of actions “filter dams, fires of anger, demonstrations in front of the prefectures”.
10:21 – Farmers mobilized in Vélizy back for new actions this evening
The farmers mobilized on the RN118 left the area escorted by the police, but their movement did not stop. The demonstrators will come out to take part in other actions this evening, in particular in the “fires of anger” which are to burn throughout France from 7:45 p.m. For the occasion, it will mainly be the roundabouts which will be occupied: bales of straw and pallets will be ignited on the mounds and at the edges of the roads.
09:58 – Dams on the Belgian border and German reinforcements in the Grand Est
Farmers in the Grand Est have planned several mobilizations and some are taking advantage of their border with European neighbors to demonstrate. In the Ardennes, the FDSEA and the Young Farmers are organizing filter barriers on the roads linking France to Belgium: from 10 a.m. they will check trucks entering France in search of products that do not respect European standards.
In the Marne, a rally is organized in front of the prefecture of Châlons-en-Champagne. The mobilization could last until Tuesday according to some and the unions have called for bringing a “maximum of tractors”. Other mobilizations should take place tomorrow, particularly around Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) and its prefecture. There, German farmers could join the protest.
09:36 – Farmers’ blockade lifted on the N118
It was one of the most important blockages of the morning this Monday, November 18, the mobilization of farmers on the RN118 near Vélizy was lifted shortly before 9:30 a.m. this morning after an entire night of blockage, reports The Parisian. Around thirty people occupied the road all night, leaving only one of the three lanes of traffic usable. However, lifting the blockade does not mean the end of the movement. Other actions could emerge soon.
09:29 – Limited farmer mobilizations in Brittany
It is not in Brittany that the agricultural unions will be most active. The unions of Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine and Finistère have not announced mobilizations this Monday, November 18, due to the work that remains to be accomplished in the fields after inclement weather. On the other hand, some actions are planned in Côtes-d’Armor: at the entrance to Lamballe, in Dinan at the Aublette roundabout or even in Guingamp at the Kernilien roundabout.
09:17 – Macron promises that “France will not sign this treaty as it stands”, but is that enough?
The mobilizations and blockades of farmers, many of which began this Monday, coincide with the start of the G20 summit during which the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur must be discussed and negotiated. If farmers are firmly opposed to the signing of the agreement, this is also the case for Emmanuel Macron who recalled it yesterday from Argentina. “France will not sign this treaty as it stands,” he said to “reassure” farmers. “We do not believe in the pre-agreement as it was negotiated,” he added, even judging the text “very bad for our agriculture”: “We cannot ask our farmers in Europe to change their practices, to do without certain phytosanitary products, to have high quality agriculture and at the same time to open our market to massive imports of products which do not respect the same criteria”. However, France’s position is in the minority and the agreement could well be signed against the advice of France.
09:10 – Blockades of farmers planned in Burgundy-Franche Comté
In the departments of Burgundy-Franche Comté, farmers will carry out several actions in addition to certain blockages: a gathering is planned on the outskirts of Dijon (Côte-d’Or) to light a “fire of anger”, dozens of radars will be covered in Doubs, it will only be panels in Haute-Saône and Saône-et-Loire, farmers will meet in Mâcon on the Europe roundabout.
09:04 – The FNSEA warns that “the movement is only just beginning”
“The movement is only just beginning, we are all disappointed that Mr Attal’s promises dating from January have still not been honored by Mr Macron” indicated Damien Radet, federal secretary of the FNSEA Ile-de-France in Parisian since the RN118 was blocked, in Yvelines. The same newspaper indicates that the blockade in place since last night should be lifted before 10 a.m.