After a relative lull during the holiday season, agricultural mobilization has resumed with renewed vigor at the beginning of January. Against a backdrop of protests against the trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries, as well as persistent criticism of the handling of the bovine dermatosis epidemic, farmers They have resumed their journey. Several tractor convoys are heading towards Paris, while numerous roadblocks, some partial and others complete, are multiplying on highways across the country. As early as Tuesday, a convoy of about forty farmers left Lot-et-Garonne for the capital. This initiative was spearheaded by representatives of the Rural Coordination, who denounce the lack of concrete responses from the government to the crisis facing the agricultural sector. In rural areas, many believe that local mobilization is no longer sufficient and that only visible action at the national level can bring about change. The stated objective is to bring their demands directly to Paris, despite the constraints imposed by the authorities. In other departments of the Southwest, groups of farmers have also taken to the road, sometimes in stages, sometimes after being briefly stopped by law enforcement. These convoys are proceeding in a dispersed manner, a deliberate strategy to avoid a mass interception and maximize their chances of reaching their final destination. This choice marks a shift from past mobilizations, where more visible marches were quickly contained.
Official bans and a mobilization that is spreading
Faced with this resurgence of protests, prefects in several regions have issued orders prohibiting the movement of convoys of tractors and agricultural machinery until Thursday. These measures aim to limit disruptions on major roads and prevent prolonged blockades. However, they have not put an end to the mobilization. Other groups have organized, sometimes bypassing the most heavily monitored routes, to continue their advance towards the Paris region. Alongside the convoys, roadblocks have been set up in numerous regions. In Occitanie, several major roads remain closed or heavily disrupted, with calls for an escalation of the movement around Toulouse. In the Southeast, actions continue on highways and strategic roads, with targeted checks of foreign trucks, a symbol for farmers of what they consider unfair competition. Further blockades have been reported in Normandy, where key infrastructure such as the Caen ring road and the port of Cherbourg are affected, as well as in the center of the country, on busy national roads and highways. These actions are taking place against a backdrop of weariness and persistent anger. Farmers are denouncing both the effects of international trade agreements, which they consider unbalanced, and a health management system perceived as inadequate to the realities on the ground. Bovine dermatosis, in particular, continues to fuel a feeling of abandonment, with some breeders believing that the measures put in place do not address the scale of the difficulties encountered.
A movement that seeks to influence political decisions
The current strategy relies on continuous and fragmented pressure, based on the idea that multiple and simultaneous actions make a purely security-focused response more difficult. Organizers claim they want to learn from previous mobilizations, particularly those in early 2024, when convoys were stopped before reaching their objectives. This time, the priority seems to be reaching Paris, even if in a scattered fashion, to maintain the movement's visibility. Politically, the resumption of the mobilization comes as the European Union recently mentioned a possible budget increase for its future Common Agricultural Policy. This announcement was met with caution by the protesters, who are waiting for specific and quickly implementable commitments. For many, the promises remain too vague and too far removed from the immediate economic realities of farms. As the convoys advance and the blockades remain in place, the risk of further major disruptions to traffic increases. The situation remains fluid, but one thing is clear for the mobilized farmers: the anger has not subsided and the pressure on the government is set to continue until concrete and sufficient responses are provided.
