Anger of Lozère farmers: a filter dam installed on the A75 motorway near Marvejols

Young farmers and apprentices supported the movement. FREE MIDI – Michel Pieyre

“We walk on our heads”, the slogan of the Lozère farmers’ movement. FREE MIDI – Michel Pieyre

After the effort, comfort with some sausages, Lozère sausages, of course! FREE MIDI – Michel Pieyre

La gendarmeire était en appui pour la sécurité sur l'A75. MIDI LIBRE – Michel Pieyre

Du feu pour réchauffeur les coeurs des agriculteurs. MIDI LIBRE – Michel Pieyre

Plusieurs dizaines de tracteurs positionnés sur l'atoroute A75. MIDI LIBRE – Michel Pieyre

Les routiers solidaires avec les agriculteurs. MIDI LIBRE – Michel Pieyre

Au moins 200 agriculteurs rassemblés en Lozère. MIDI LIBRE – Michel Pieyre

Farmers from Lozère blocked the A75 in both directions near Marvejols, Wednesday January 24, 2024. They joined the movement of anger in the agricultural world that started last Thursday. The blockade was to be lifted at 6 p.m.

The Buisson interchange on the A75, near Marvejols, looked like a fortified camp of diehard farmers this Wednesday, January 24, 2024. The anger of the profession, which began last week, has spread to the Lozère countryside. There were at least 200 professionals gathered in the early hours of the morning along the highway, in order to establish filter barriers in both directions of traffic, with the logistical support of the gendarmerie.

The idea: force motorists and truck drivers to exit the highway and re-enter immediately. In order to distribute leaflets and demands to ordinary people. Among the demonstrators, young apprentices, operators exasperated with their remuneration and a few veterans who came to support.

Apprentices worried about their future

Dorian, Ejuan, Lenny, apprentices or young employees on farms, observe from the bridge over the highway the long line of tractors blocking the tracks: "We would like to make a living from our job. It's more than difficult. We are too dependent on aid from Europe and all these standards that vary depending on the country. We all fear for our future, they say. "I am an apprentice at Aumont-Aubrac. Later, I would like to settle on my grandparents' farm. Finally, if I can… there is the desire but it's scary, Dorian is alarmed.

Alain, a former farmer, went bankrupt. FREE MIDI – Michel Pieyre

A little further on, Alain also observes the asphalt emptied of its contents. He was a farmer in Saint-Georges-de-Lévéjac: “I had to stop my dairy farming because I was not up to standard. I was forced to build a building with milking parlors. I couldn't pay the debts. I didn't have enough animals. And not enough land to increase my livestock." An endless screw which led the operator to bankruptcy: "Everything was seized, I went through proceedings. It lasted fourteen years,” he breathes. "I'm not on the street, I have a small pension. But I was at the RSA." He receives 860 € per month. 

The work is not profitable

On the roundabout adjoining the Buisson interchange, many operators are standing still, like Michel, from Fau-de-Peyre: "The life of&# The farmer becomes very difficult, with all the loads. We generate very little income, 700 to 800 euros. There is too much foreign meat on the French market. They offer lower prices than us. He is also surprised by the difference in the price of milk leaving the farm and on arrival, in the consumer's basket: "We have to buy food for our animals." His herd is made up of 40 Simmental cows for milking and around fifty Aubracs for meat: &quot ;We sell between 5.5 and 6 euros per kilo of a live animal, he announces. The work is not profitable." Michel is uncompromising: "Whether it be salad, tomatoes, meat, everything related to agriculture must be reviewed. We need to reduce our costs. We work with tractors, diesel must remain tax-free. He remains worried, like many, for future generations.

Michel, a cattle breeder, demands a reduction in his expenses. FREE MIDI – Michel Pieyre  

On the south side exit ramp, the line of cars and trucks is growing. Many truckers express their solidarity with powerful horns. Motorists are not left out: "I understand their motivations. We have to find solutions,” exclaims one of them. “It's going well,” says Quentin, who distributes leaflet after leaflet. "We explain to them, they understand. Apart from a few who are not very happy, everything is fine!", he smiles. A little earlier in the morning, a minute of silence was observed by the corporation for the farmer and her daughter killed in a road accident on a roadblock on Tuesday January 23 at dawn. White armbands were worn by most of the roadblockers, as a sign of mourning. 

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