Charles Guyard, edited by Romain Rouillard 3:50 p.m., June 11, 2022
Throughout France, many mobilizations have been organized for several weeks by the Confédération paysanne, in order to denounce the low incomes received by the various farmers.
Some of them even say they live below the poverty line and demand concrete measures.
Inflation, war in Ukraine, climatic hazards... worries have been mounting in recent weeks for the agricultural sector.
Under these conditions, repaying the loans and paying yourself a decent salary becomes more and more difficult.
In Brittany this Saturday, as in other regions, several demonstrations bring together farmers at the call of the Peasant Confederation to denounce these low incomes.
"For me, being a farmer today means living off the land, living off its production," said Frédéric Lesieur, a farmer in Chantepie, near Rennes, in Ille-et-Vilaine.
To live from his passion, in short.
However, financially, this five-year-old vegetable producer is far from making a decent living from it.
"If there's one thing that should make me stop, that would be it. I live on less than €800 a month, below the poverty line," he says.
Expected concrete measures
This operator is not an isolated case.
One in five farmers in France struggles to get by in normal times.
The situation worsens all the more when climatic hazards get involved, as was the case a week ago.
A severe hailstorm hit the area.
"It was very devastating. We had 50 mm of water in 20 minutes, half an hour. We are not covered by agricultural calamities, hail is not taken into account. So we will not touch anything if ever we don't mobilize", develops Frédéric Lesieur.
Action by the Confédération paysanne des Côtes d'Armor for peasant income on the Saint Brieuc market.
Market regulations should prioritize farmers in open markets.
Interpellation of candidates for #legislatives2022 and local elected officials pic.twitter.com/PXSJ9RItfE
- Conf 'Paysanne (@ConfPaysanne) June 11, 2022
Mobilizations have also been organized everywhere for several weeks to demand action in favor of the peasant world.
Concrete and simple measures, such as giving producers priority access to city markets.
A prerogative that belongs to the town halls.
Today in France, only 16% of stalls, on average, are devoted to direct sales.
"We are full of not finding it normal not to earn a living by being a peasant," he concludes.