“It’s these people from mass distribution who weaken all the small farmers”

Under the eye of the department manager at Hyper U, farmers empty a section of wines of foreign origin. Midi Libre – STEPHANE BARBIER

Vegetables were also targeted by Gard farmers. Midi Libre – STEPHANE BARBIER

Vine stumps and tires were dumped in front of the Intermarché store in Saint-Christol. Midi Libre – STEPHANE BARBIER

This Monday, February 19, in Saint-Christol, then in Alès, the Intermarché and Hyper U brands were emptied of their food products from outside Gard or abroad by around sixty farmers.

Moroccan cherry tomatoes, “Le Cévenol” with imported meat, wines of foreign origin…hellip;
This Monday, in the middle of the afternoon, around sixty farmers from Gard took over the shelves of the Intermarché and Hyper U supermarkets in order to collect products imported or of non-Gard origin. A striking action three days before the Agricultural Show, led by the majority union of the National Federation of Agricultural Operators' Unions (FNSEA), in order to maintain pressure on the government, without state of mind.

The movement is expected to be repeated between now and Saturday February 24

"This kind of action, I am delighted, specifies Dominique, 63 years old, farmer in Saint-Christol since the age of 20. It is these people from the big retailers who weaken all the small farmers. They slit their throats, they bleed them, bleed them! Their products must be revalued. They are not asking for the moon, they do not want money, but just for their work to be revalued."
During the exchange, the farmers come out of the Hyper U store in Alès, their carts stuffed with fruit, wine or vegetables which they dump on the store. altar of manure deposited by the tractor driver with a masked face. Inside the store, the ground is strewn with flat beans, tomatoes and kiwis floating in a sea of ​​red wine with a pungent smell. In a corner of the stage, the staff of the establishment watch the scene without flinching, with a crestfallen expression. The hunting clothing outfits and sometimes masked faces impress certain customers, including a little girl who questions her parents about the reason for this action.
A question that farmers no longer have. " The family business is dying,” insists Mathis, 24, a wine grower in Saint-Jean-de-Serres, observing a tractor dumping dozens of dusty stumps in front of the Intermarché brand in Saint-Jean-de-Serres. -Christol-lez-Alès. "The wines come from everywhere, continues the great-grandson of the founder. We import food that we produce here. There are more and more standards and the administration takes a lot of time. Nothing is right."
Under the eye of the national police, the situation becomes tense when the Intermarché security guard wants to lower the metal curtain in order to block the exit of the farmers, the carts filled with products. The tone rises and wine bottles shatter on the ground. The metal shutter blocked by trolleys still allows the farmers to exit.
They then throw the food on the ground and a scene of poverty suddenly unfolds." Men, some elderly, sometimes under the forks of the tractor collect the products. "It’s for my daughter who is raising her three children alone", explains Albin, retired. The national police officials let it happen, aware that the products will not be put back on the shelves.
Bitter, the manager of Intermarché says he is waiting to see the extent of the damage. But it’s a shame when we offer shelves with local producers. We were told that it was not against us, that we were not bad students, but that it was against the company. "

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