French farmers stage ‘snail’ operations and supermarket protests over imports

Farming unions are gathering across France today (September 26) to protest against issues including customs duties and trade agreements.

The FNSEA (la Fédération nationale des syndicats d’exploitants agricoles) and JA (Jeunes Agriculteurs) have called for nationwide action, with rallies taking place in communes including Blois, Grenoble, Toulouse, and Versailles. 

Roughly 150 farmers have gathered in Perpignan, using tractors to block the A9 motorway southbound toll barrier (exit 42). Tree stumps and dead branches were set on fire in the middle of the roundabout facing the toll and traffic is completely gridlocked in this area, reported Actu Perpignan. The protest is expected to end at around 16:00.

The unions assured that roadblocks - typically a key tactic where farmers block roads with tractors - are not to play a central role in this movement, however other forms of disruption are occurring.

Farmers in Blois (Loir-et-Cher) gathered on a roundabout this morning before conducting an opération escargot (snail operation) towards the prefecture, with tractors taking the ‘fast lane’ along the expressway to slow down drivers without bringing traffic to a standstill. 

The rally ended at around midday after tractors dumped piles of manure in front of the prefecture. 

Some 20 tractors parked beneath the statue of Louis XIV in front of the Palace of Versailles to express frustration regarding “the lack of income, the ever-increasing costs and the falling price of wheat”, local farmer, Olivier Gousseau, told FranceInfo.

Operations are also taking place in supermarkets across the north of the country to identify imported products that do not comply with European standards. 

Farmers gathered at an Auchan supermarket in Amiens (Somme), while checks were carried out in a Lidl supermarket, an Aldi supermarket, and a KFC in Saint-Memmie (Marne). Similar actions took place in towns across the region. 

A Buffalo Grill restaurant in Pusey (Haute-Saône) was targeted by farming unions, spraying messages such as: “I am French. I eat French” and “Yes to our French meat. No to Mercosur”. 

Farming unions are setting out to protest against trade tariffs imposed by Donald Trump and the draft EU-Mercosur agreement, which will facilitate the importation of produce from South America, including sugar, rice, sugar, honey, meat and soya. Farmers fear this will weaken European agricultural sectors and ask that French products be prioritised in the supply chain. 

The FNSEA is seeking a meeting with new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to discuss their demands, and intends to continue organising protest movements until this goal has been achieved.

“We will be back if necessary this winter,” FNSEA president Arnaud Rousseau told Le Figaro during the Versailles rally earlier this morning. “The President must react. The Prime Minister must meet with us urgently,” he added.