Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP 4:44 p.m., January 31, 2024
Faced with the anger of farmers and the various blockages on France's roads, transporters have found themselves stuck on the roads for several days. To contest this, they asked this Wednesday for “very short-term support measures” for “bloodless” companies.
Already in crisis, and blocked by farmers for several days, transporters on Wednesday requested "very short-term support measures" for "bloodless" companies. “Our companies are experiencing unacceptable blockages to their activity, both on roads and on logistics sites and around port and airport areas,” described the Union of Transport and Logistics Companies of France (Union TLF) in a press release. ). The organization warns of “the dramatic consequences of this situation which has lasted too long”.
Trucks emptied by demonstrators
The blockades by angry farmers have stopped thousands of trucks in France, and caused numerous delays and additional costs for transporters. Several foreign trucks were stopped during the night from Thursday to Friday on national 7 near Montélimar (Drôme), blocked by tractors. Protesters did the same to highways and also emptied trucks carrying foreign products.
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“We recognize the importance of the demands of farmers who are also essential for our country. However, we demand effective freedom of movement for carriers and the security of people and goods as soon as possible,” underline the representative of the carriers. Jean-Marc Rivera, head of the Organization of European Road Transporters (OTRE), another employers' federation in the sector, denounced the loading checks carried out by demonstrators, particularly in refrigerated trucks. “We cannot allow ourselves to threaten drivers. That remains a limit that must not be crossed,” he stressed.
Compensatory financial measures
Union-TLF is calling for "very short-term" support measures, such as the spread of tax and social security deadlines, exemptions from contributions on working hours caused by blockages and the extension of repayment deadlines for loans guaranteed by the state. For OTRE, the priority is to ask for "compensatory financial measures because we are victims of a situation that we did not want", according to Jean-Marc Rivera. Above all, he calls for the maintenance of advantageous taxation on diesel, with the extension of the partial reimbursement of the TICPE in 2025.
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Beyond these immediate measures, the transport sector requires "specific support to succeed in the reindustrialization (of the) country and its economic recovery", according to the TLF Union. "Like the agricultural world, it can no longer be the variable for adjusting the fiscal policies of public authorities", underline the transporters, asking "the cessation of any project of new taxes, whether at the national level (TICPE) or regional (Ecotax)".