Anger of farmers: the A75 to the rhythm of the protests in Aveyron

Les agriculteurs ont bloqué l'autoroute A75 en Aveyron jusqu'à la tombée de la nuit. Midi libre – Maxime Cohen

Jeudi 25 janvier, les agriculteurs ont fait entendre leur voix à Sévérac-d'Aveyron et ont ralenti la circulation sur l'A75.

Operation snail has never lived up to its name so well. Any gastropod on the left lane of the highway could have overtaken the combine harvesters stamped with the FNSEA logo as they took their time, departing from Sévérac -from Aveyron, towards Campagnac. By the time the line lengthens and winds until the last light of the sun.

Behind the bucolic picture that many onlookers immortalized from the departmental roads, there was the message carried by a large part of the farmers in France for several days. A fight for better working conditions taken up by the FNSEA and the Young Farmers. They took matters into their own hands to make the voice of Aveyron residents heard in this national mobilization and there were more than 200 of them at the launch of hostilities.

Also read: Anger of farmers: "We are walking on our heads with untenable standards", exasperates Rémi Dumas

"The price of milk has not changed"

Very quickly, farmers arrived from all over the department to take part in this gathering, while in Rodez, the Peasant Confederation also organized a mobilization. "We wonder about our future, explains Robin Tassié, young dairy sheep breeder in Sévérac-d&#39 ;Aveyron. Before, you had to count between 80 and 100,000€ for tractors, now we are between 140 and 160,000 €. The price of milk hasn't changed either." 

#AgriculteurEnColere #Aveyron
🔴Le soleil se cache et ça avance toujours aussi lentement sur l’A75 entre Sévérac et Campagnac pic.twitter.com/ZUP7TKp45w

— Midi Libre Millau Sud-Aveyron (@MidiLibreMillau) January 25, 2024

He is not the only young person who came to be heard this Thursday. "We want an increase in the price of milk without it being passed on to the population, comments Nicolas Capelle, who more than a herd of fedas, cow breeders in the Sévéragais. We don't know what the big groups do as a margin. We need to find a solution that does not penalize everyone."

A demonstration between two milkings

At their side, the situation does not encourage Lison Maymard to embark on the agricultural adventure. "It's not installed yet", smile the two Sévéragais. "When you look at the prices, it's complicated", admits the young farmer.

Tariffs aren't the only things farmers ask for. "We spend more time doing paperwork than doing paperwork. to be alongside our animals", sighs Robin Tassié. "We see that this problem affects everyone , it's the same for craftsmen, adds Nicolas Capelle. Everyone took the time to come and carry this voice, between two sheep milkings. "We don't have much choice, they don't go on strike!" 

Also read: "This anger does not surprise me, it pleases me" : Karine Le Marchand will join angry farmers this Friday in Paris

"We're here, whatever it takes!"

They were in the long convoy which snaked twice between Sévérac-d'Aveyron and Campagnac. Once the first rotation had been completed on the A75, the convoy of tractors supervised by the gendarmerie gave way to a snake of loudspeakers and horns before ending up at the Imprévu roundabout, between RN88 and A75, the two major roads in Aveyron. 

"We want to show the extent of our distress to the Prime Minister, shout the representatives of the agricultural union on the sound system. He must announce decisions and directions this Friday, will we be satisfied ? Is -we will be disappointed ? We don’t know! We're going to show him that we're here, whatever it takes. We want lasting decisions for our farms and to make our rural territories function." 

The Prime Minister's speech following this national mobilization is therefore expected in Aveyron, as elsewhere. The various unions have already planned movements for Friday. The Peasant Confederation will remain in the Ruthenois. She arranges to meet "around 2 p.m., in Rodez". On the FNSEA side, the blockages of Tanus and Sévérac-d'Aveyron "are maintained until Mr. Attal's announcements, we will see in function& quot;, indicate the representatives of the agricultural union.

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