Many angry farmers have worn yellow hats or caps since the beginning of the movement. A symbol that is not new.
They were clearly visible in Agen on Friday January 26, where they demonstrated their discontent in front of the prefecture. For almost two weeks of farmers’ mobilizations in France, yellow hats and caps have become familiar at highway blockades and in the tractor processions that crisscross the cities. This distinctive sign, which inevitably recalls the Breton red caps in 2013 or the yellow vests in 2018, is not its first struggle.
“The hat is because it’s cold and yellow has been the color of Rural Coordination for 30 years,” says Karine Duc at BFMTV. This winegrower is the co-president of the Rural Coordination of Lot-et-Garonne, the second agricultural union in the country and main rival of the FNSEA. Marked on the right, this union, resulting from a split with the Federation, plays an important role in the current mobilizations. On the yellow caps, we can also read his initials: CR.
Very established in Gers and Lot-et-Garonne
Rural Coordination is particularly well established in the Occitanie region, where the current mobilization of farmers started. The union provides notable competition to the FNSEA in the departments of Gers and Lot-et-Garonne. Hence the presence of numerous yellow caps in front of the prefecture in Agen on Friday.
The yellow cap is a “sign of revolt”, declares Véronique Le Floc’h, president of Rural Coordination, to Echoes. A sign that changes with the seasons, since in 2017, members of the union already wore caps of this color during a demonstration against the rise in the price of wheat in Paris.