While the first alerts date back to last fall, could the government really have anticipated the farmers’ demonstrations more?
The farmers’ protests are not new. From the fall of 2023, the “We walk on our heads” operation was carried out across the country, at the initiative, in particular, of Young Farmers. The principle ? Knocking down signs in French cities to express their discontent, particularly regarding the many standards imposed on them. All this, in a completely peaceful manner. So, if warning signs were observable, why did the government not take note of the heartfelt cry of French farmers?
A lack of responsiveness and territorial anchoring
At the time, some like the president of mayors of France, David Lisnard (LR) had alerted. “Our young farmers are right: we are walking on our heads,” he declared in the columns of Le Point last December. Within the majority, we recognize a lack of application, “the signs being turned over are a weak signal which has undoubtedly been minimized. We have not really looked at who participated, if there were any people unionized or not” regrets Nicole Le Peih, MP Renaissance from Morbihan for France Info.
Was it really possible to anticipate such a movement on the part of the agricultural world? Difficult to say, especially since the unions themselves had not really felt the tide turning. “We were closely monitoring the situation and the Prime Minister saw the union organizations on December 5 with measures taken,” indicates a former government advisor to France Info. At the time, the FNSEA and the Young Farmers felt they had been heard. “I had perceived the crisis coming but perhaps not of this magnitude and not as organized” continues Nicoles Le Peih, still in the columns of France Info.
Has the stormy episode of the immigration law, passed against all odds, then rejected by almost 40% by the Constitutional Council, distorted the perception of the government? One thing is certain, while anger was rising in the countryside, elected officials were fighting over this famous text of the immigration bill and were not on the ground to take the temperature. During this time, peasant solidarity was built. This also raises the question of the territorial anchoring of the Renaissance party. “When you have half of the ministers who are Parisian with young advisors who also come from the capital, in terms of connection with the territories, it’s a bit average” concedes a former executive advisor for France Info.
No comparison with the Yellow Vests episode
So, are the Green Vests the new Yellow Vests? Not really. First of all because the farmers’ demonstration was relatively organized, notably by local federations. Furthermore, the supervision of the police and the cordial understanding that has almost always reigned on the roads between farmers and police or gendarmes bears no resemblance to the clashes observed during the Yellow Vest Crisis. Some of the farmers even received support from mayors who did not question the reversal of the signs, for example.
The organization of the blockades and demonstrations by farmers remains relatively better anticipated than the mobilization of the Yellow Vests, which was certainly more disorganized on the demonstrator side. Finally, the various agricultural unions have already been received on several occasions by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in Matignon. The latter even traveled to a farm in Haute-Garonne to announce a first round of aid measures for the agricultural world, on Friday January 26, 2024. If the government has not turned a blind eye to the anger of the agricultural world, there may have been a lack of anticipation even though the first signals did not date back to January.
Better anticipated than the GJ.