Wikipedia

2024 French farmers' protests

The 2024 French farmers' protests[2] are a series of protests and road blockages organized non unionized farmers and agricultural unions (FNSEA, Young Farmers [fr], Rural Coordination [fr], Confédération paysanne [fr]) since 18 January 2024.[3] The farmers protested against low food prices, proposed reductions in state subsidies for farmers' diesel fuel, and a EU-Mercosur free trade agreement.[4][5]

2024 French farmers' protests
Part of 2024 European farmers' protests
Tractors at Saint-Etienne-de-Fontbellon (Ardèche, Occitania) during the french farmers' protests in January 2024.
Date16 January 2024 – ongoing
(11 months and 3 days)
Location
 France
GoalsEnd of the tax on diesel, payment of aid planned by the state, and end of free trade agreement negotiations
Methods
StatusOngoing
Casualties
Death(s)2
Injuries3
Arrestedat least 91[1]

In response to the protests, Gabriel Attal's government scrapped proposed reductions in government subsidies for agricultural diesel and other measures to reduce financial and bureaucratic burdens for farmers, but the protests persisted.[6]

Chronology

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Since October of 2023, smaller-scale pacific actions where have been carried out first in Occitania and then in other regions by farmers such as turning upside down municipal signage, this movement is called "On marche sur la tête", literally "we walk on the head" which is a french expression for "it's nonsense".[7][8]

 
Jérôme Bayle, one of the leaders of the farmers' movement in France

The movement started from Occitania,[9][10][11] first with a demonstration in Toulouse on 16 January, which had no impact. Occitan farmers (Jérôme Bayle)[12] then decided to block the A64 motorway Toulouse-Tarbes on 18 January.[13][14][15] The movement has damaged property, including government buildings. Thus, on the night of January 18 to 19, an administration building was blown up by an explosion in Carcassonne (Occitania). This act was claimed by the Comité Régional d'Action Viticole (CRAV), a radical Occitan group of winemakers.[16][17][6]

On 23 January, a 37-year-old Occitan farmer[18] and her 12-year-old daughter were killed after a car crashed into a roadblock where they were standing. The farmer's husband was badly injured.[19][20]

Major roads have been affected in France from January 23.[21] Protesters planned to besiege Paris starting January 29. Some Occitan activists from Lot-et-Garonne of the Rural coordination [fr] of Agen (Karine Duc and José Perez) even managed to enter the Rungis market (near Paris) but they were immediately arrested by the police.[22][23]

The blockades of autoroutes were removed by 3 February 2024 after promises announced by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on February 1.[24][25] These protests are analogous to the 2024 Italian protests for agriculture.

On 3 June 2024, French farmer unions (The Ultras A64 of Jérôme Bayle and the Rural coordination [fr])[26] collaborated with the Catalan farmers' platform Spanish Revolta Pagesa and other Spanish farmer unions to help block crossing points along the Spanish-French border across the length of the Pyrenees from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.[27] Six tractors blocked traffic from the French side.[28]

“Act II” against the EU-Mercosur treaty (November)

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In November, the movement start again to dissuade the French government from joining the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur.[29]

Main demands

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While the demands were centered around revenue, they varied throughout the movement, depending on who was expressing them, with some demands appearing once unions had taken the leadership of the movement.[30] The main worries of farmers, according to a poll dating from November 2023 were:[31]

  1. worries linked to income and the economic context were cited by 53% of respondents (with rising costs, market instability and inadequate sales prices at the top of the list);
  2. worries linked to standards, public policies and controls were cited by 35% of respondents (with laws and standards governing practices and controls at the top of the list);
  3. worries linked to the climat context and environmental vulnerability came in third, cited by 25% of respondents (with climate change and its consequences at the top of the list);
  4. lack of consideration and recognition came in 4th place, cited by 19% of farmers questioned.

At the beginning of the movement, Jérôme Bayle, who initiated it, had three demands:[32]

  • better coverage of damage caused by the epizootic haemorrhagic disease;
  • cancellation of the tax increase on the diesel used by farmers;
  • progress on the issue of water reservoirs.

Two of these three demands are directly linked to the impacts of climate change in Occitania, where Jérôme Bayle works.[30]

Bibliography

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Divergences and representation in the French farming community: an analysis of the farmers’ movement of 2024, Parlons Climat

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Colère des agriculteurs : Ce qu'il faut retenir de la journée de mercredi - France Bleu". 31 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-02-01. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  2. ^ "French Farmers to Keep Protesting Despite Government's Concessions Offer". 27 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-02-12. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  3. ^ ""On va mener une action qui va marquer les esprits": les agriculteurs veulent bloquer les autoroutes ce jeudi". ladepeche.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2024-01-24. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  4. ^ "France drops plan to decrease farmers' diesel discount but protests to continue". Reuters. 2024.
  5. ^ "France farmer protests: PM offers key concessions after roads around Paris blocked". 2024-01-26. Archived from the original on 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  6. ^ a b "France steps up security as Paris farmers' protest looms". Reuters. 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-01-30. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  7. ^ Basar, Ani; Parédès, Carlo; Sarre, Emmanuel (29 November 2023). "VIDÉO - Plus de 10.000 panneaux retournés en France : quel est l'envers de ces actions ?". TF1 (video+text) (in French). Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  8. ^ Blot, Anne-Sophie (27 November 2023). "Panneaux retournés : on vous explique cette opération qui touche toute la France". actu.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  9. ^ "'The French farmers' movement doesn't really have any similarities with the Yellow Vests'". Le Monde.fr. 24 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  10. ^ "La Fédération des Pays Unis soutient les agriculteurs". Archived from the original on 2024-02-05. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  11. ^ ROBERT, Mathieu (January 26, 2024). "Colère des agriculteurs : pourquoi la mobilisation est partie d'Occitanie". Ouest-France.fr. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  12. ^ "Blocage de l'A64: Jérôme Bayle, éleveur bovin dans le Volvestre, affirme que les agriculteurs sont "déterminés" à continuer le mouvement". Archived from the original on 2024-02-05. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  13. ^ "VIDEOS. "On va bloquer l'autoroute !" les agriculteurs en colère après la réunion en préfecture". France 3 Régions (in French). 16 January 2024. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  14. ^ "En colère, les agriculteurs d'Occitanie manifestent une nouvelle fois ce mardi à Toulouse". Le Parisien (in French). 16 January 2024. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Colère des agriculteurs : les revendications de la profession". L'Express (in French). 2024-01-24. Archived from the original on 2024-01-24. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  16. ^ "Explosion dans un immeuble vide ciblé par les agriculteurs à Carcassonne". 25 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  17. ^ "Une explosion souffle le bâtiment de la direction de l'environnement à Carcassonne, le sigle du Comité d'action viticole retrouvé sur un mur". 19 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-01-25. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  18. ^ "Agricultrice et sa fille tuées en Ariège : Une reconstitution de l'accident a été organisée ce jeudi à Pamiers". February 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  19. ^ "Mouvement des agriculteurs : ce que l'on sait de la mort d'une agricultrice et de sa fille sur un barrage en Ariège" [Farmers protests : what we know about the death of a farmer and her daughter on a blockade in Ariège]. Libération (in French). 23 January 2024. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  20. ^ "Mort de l'agricultrice dans l'Ariège : les premières explications du conducteur en garde à vue" [Death of a Farmer in Ariège : the first explanations of the driver in custody]. HuffPost (in French). 24 January 2024. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  21. ^ Willsher, Kim (2024-01-29). "France warns farmers that blocking Paris market will be red line in protest". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  22. ^ "Arrestations d'agriculteurs à Rungis: Karine Duc de la Coordination rurale dénonce une "rafle"". Archived from the original on 2024-02-05. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  23. ^ "Tractors block major roads as 'siege of Paris' begins". BBC News. 2024-01-29. Archived from the original on 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  24. ^ "Aides aux éleveurs, loi Egalim, pesticides… Ce qu'il faut retenir des annonces du gouvernement sur l'agriculture". February 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-02-05. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  25. ^ "Mobilisation des agriculteurs : seule une portion de l'A71 reste encore coupée". aprr.fr. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  26. ^ "Colère des agriculteurs: "Cette journée nous permet de prévenir l'Europe", les agriculteurs français et espagnols s'allient pour bloquer les Pyrénées". nrpyrenees.fr (in French). June 4, 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
  27. ^ "Les agriculteurs français et espagnols s'apprêtent à débloquer la frontière". L'Express (in French). 2024-06-04. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
  28. ^ Sánchez Iranzo, Marta (2024-06-03). "Catalan farmers block key French-Spanish border crossings in 24-hour protest". El Nacional. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  29. ^ "Colère du monde agricole: en Occitanie, les éleveurs sont "à bout de nerfs" et se préparent à manifester dans quelques jours". midilibre.fr (in French). November 10, 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
  30. ^ a b Deloffre, Amélie (2024-05-15). "Analyse du mouvement des agriculteurs 2024". Parlons Climat (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  31. ^ BVA (22 Feb 2024). "New poll of farmers".
  32. ^ "Colère des agriculteurs : pourquoi Jérôme Bayle a relâché la pression à Toulouse". La Tribune (in French). 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
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