Farmers in Bordeaux, France, staged protests on Monday against the decline of agriculture and winemaking, which they believe has resulted from a lack of government support, the Coordination rurale union said.
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According to the head of the trade union, Veronique Le Floc, whose video message was published on the social network X, farmers came out to protest at a time when a meeting of regional councilors of New Aquitaine was being held in Bordeaux.
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“Several hundred unionized farmers, as well as independent farmers, have been waiting for them since early morning. Over the past 20 years, every fourth farm in New Aquitaine has closed, the number of livestock has decreased by hundreds of thousands of heads, winemaking is disappearing. We demand the support of farmers,” she said.
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According to radio station France Bleu, delegations of farmers from all over the region are arriving in Bordeaux, creating traffic jams at the entrances to the city. They expect that regional deputies will receive them.
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From Monday night, the union is staging a protest at the building of the regional council “to save 60 thousand farms.” Several hundred farmers and about 60 tractors are participating in the protest. At night, they blocked the entrance to the building with uprooted grapevines and manure. Later in the morning, protesters also dumped tires and straw near the fences and tried to set them on fire. The police special squad for suppression of protests (CRS) intervened and tear gas was used.
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In France, farmer protests have gained momentum in recent weeks. Protesters blocked key highways, blocking traffic with tractors, haystacks and piles of manure. Farmers also bombarded prefectures and government buildings with manure and waste. They demanded recognition of the importance of their activities and condemned government policies in the agricultural sector, which, in their opinion, make them uncompetitive. In particular, farmers opposed the import of agricultural products, restrictions on the use of water for irrigation, increasing the cost of diesel fuel, as well as restrictive measures to protect the environment and the growing financial burden on production.
