2024-02-19 16:15:53
Tractor processions back on the roads. A few days before the highly anticipated Agricultural Show, which will be held on Saturday in Paris, farmers continue to want to put pressure on the government, particularly in Bouches-du-Rhône. Several convoys converged on Marseille and entered the Phocaean city this Monday morning. After government announcements which allowed the lifting of blockades across the country at the end of January, the sector says it is ready to resume the protest, believing that the executive’s promises are slow to materialize in concrete terms.
Around forty tractors paraded in the center of Marseille at the call of the FNSEA and Young Farmers to demand the ability to “make a living from their profession”. The procession, bringing together several hundred people from throughout the Provence-Alpes-Côte-D’Azur region, gathered near the Old Port before traveling through the city center with signs proclaiming “We are still waiting for answers” , “Foreign products = cancer” or even “We are here to feed you, not to die, let us off the hook”.
We want to be able to “live from our profession, not from aid”, explained to AFP Romain Blanchard, president of the FNSEA of Bouches-du-Rhône, recalling that the farmers had not stopped but “suspended” their movement protest at the end of January. “The government and the administration have not fully understood our demands,” he added, believing that the mobilization of other farmers in different countries of the European Union shows that “we are right, that we are right to do what we do.”
A broken gate and spilled branches
“If the announcements made on February 1 were hopeful, it is clear that they are having difficulty materializing in the regions. State services are showing inertia and bad grace in implementing the simplification and control measures long awaited by farms”, accused the Regional Federation of Agricultural Operators’ Unions (FRSEA) a little earlier. and the Young Farmers of Paca in a joint press release, cited by France 3.
The processions left from Trets, Saint-Cannat, Rousset and even Les Milles in the direction of Marseille, and convoys met at Plan-de-Campagne, according to Provence. Traffic was particularly tight on several roads in the department on which tractors were required to circulate, namely the D6, the A51 and the A7. Bus transfers were even planned from Var to reach the Phocaean city, according to France Blue. Early this Monday morning, traffic jams began to form towards the city, according to local media.
From 9 a.m., the first tractors began to arrive at the MuCEM, the Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean in Marseille, designated as the rallying point. They stayed there for two hours, before heading towards the city center. As a sign of protest, the convoys dumped branches and rubbish in front of the offices of the Regional Directorate of Food, Agriculture and Forestry (Draaf).
Then heading towards Boulevard des Dames, they broke through the gate of the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (Dréal) with the trailer of a tractor, dumping old bales of straw, rewind Provence. Tensions escalated after an ashtray was thrown at protesters from a floor of the building, lightly injuring a farmer in the head. The director of the institution took to the streets to try to restore calm.
The procession must now pass through the prefecture. The latter had called this Monday morning to “avoid the MuCEM and Vieux-Port sector from 10 a.m.”. A press conference for farmers is planned for the end of the day, at 5 p.m., before the convoys return to the farms.
❎Disruptions are underway on the roads of Bouches-du-Rhône due to demonstrations #taxis & #farmers.
????Anticipate your travels, avoid the sectors concerned, stay cautious when approaching congestion points & be informed of developments in the situation… pic.twitter.com/zDVAc4TpSk— Prefect of the PACA region and Bouches-du-Rhône (@Prefet13) February 19, 2024
Taxis join the protest
At the same time, taxi drivers are also mobilizing, with strikes and snail operations planned in several cities this Monday. In Bouches-du-Rhône, several filter dams were erected, notably at the access point to the drop-off at Saint-Charles station, at the entrances to Marseille-Provence airport which were saturated, leading to a peak an hour and a half of traffic jams around 10 a.m., and at the entrance to the Aix-en-Provence TGV station, again according to local media.
Blockages were also organized by around a hundred taxis at the Fossette roundabout in Fos-sur-Mer, with significant traffic jams reported on the N 568, before the operation was lifted at the start of the year. afternoon. For several weeks, taxis have mounted a protest movement to demand better pay and the withdrawal of an agreement signed with the National Health Insurance Fund regarding medical transport.
Faced with traffic disruptions, the prefect of Bouches-du-Rhône advises to “stay on the A54 then the A7 motorway network” to reach Marseille, and “to take the A50” from Aix-en-Provence. To reach the port area of Fos-sur-Mer, it is recommended to “avoid taking the RN 568”. The authorities are calling more broadly to anticipate travel and “remain cautious when approaching congestion points”.
Guest on Europe 1 this Monday morning, the president of the FNSEA, the majority agricultural union in France, warned that “the anger is still there” and that expectations from the government remain “very strong”. “We are going to arrive at a time where we are going to wait for the political decision,” warned Arnaud Rousseau, who will be received on Tuesday by President Emmanuel Macron, alongside the head of Young Farmers (JA). If the announcements do not live up to expectations, “farmers will realize that they are being made fun of and I imagine that actions will resume,” he added. The government also announced that Prime Minister Gabriel Attal will hold a press conference dedicated to the agricultural crisis on Wednesday.
#Anger #farmers #movement #resumes #BouchesduRhône #convoys #tractors #reached #Marseille