“Farmers can no longer hold out”, this south-west cereal grower demands “acts” from the government

Chloé Lagadou, edited by Romain Rouillard / Photo credit: ALAIN PITTON / NURPHOTO / NURPHOTO VIA AFP 7:15 p.m., January 20, 2024

Inflation, administrative overload, ban on pesticides... The demands of the agricultural world are numerous and have started to be heard for several days.

An anger visible in several European countries and which was translated this Saturday in France by various actions, including the blocking of the A64 motorway which links Toulouse to Bayonne.

The president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, traveling in the Médoc, and the Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who went to the Rhône, argued, from a distance, over the defense of the operators, while the Minister of Agriculture was, for its part, in the Cher. 

“A lot of announcements, a lot of words, but not a lot of actions”

And while the head of government promised to “make life easier” for farmers, Marc Fesneau declared that, if France would tackle this issue, “this cannot be done overnight from Saturday to Sunday”.

Adding that “simplification is a serious subject, which we must really tackle in a very short time”.

And the Minister of Agriculture concluded his remarks by assuring that "we need standards which do not pile up, but which give a philosophy to public action and protect a certain number of things". 

>>

- “The only thing we are gaining is a decline in French agriculture” estimates Arnaud Gaillot, president of Young Farmers

Words which struggle to convince Mathieu Maronèse, cereal grower in Lot-et-Garonne, contacted by Europe 1 and who sums up the essence of his thoughts thus: "A lot of announcements, a lot of words, but not a lot of actions".

If he recognizes that there are "discussions" around "water, bovine disease" and that he says he is ready to "trust" the Minister of Agriculture, Mathieu Maronèse demands "actions", believing that “the words are too late”. 

“We are in complete red” 

Concrete actions which must take place as quickly as possible, he insists.

"There, the farmers can no longer hold on. There are some who are on the verge of bankruptcy. We are in complete red. I don't know how we can turn things around, but they have to listen to us and “They mostly act,” he concludes. 

Farmers intend to continue to make their voices heard.

This grain grower from the south-west also assures that his colleagues will not give up until no measures are put in place.

New blockages are planned, starting next week, in the Toulouse region.