Farmer's demo?

[Hotrodder]

I was thinking the farmers protest had settled down but maybe not. Went out today and things seem to have kicked off again. Huge plume of black smoke from the main roundabout leaving the RN12 at Guingamp in 22. Slip road closed. Took the next one and working my way along back streets got stopped at a light and saw fine gendarme vans loaded with bods and three cars with flashing blues came out and blocked the road. Forced us to turn around. Decided to give it up and leave town by a minor route to see two more cop cars with lights flashing coming into town followed by over 20 tractors, etc. Looks like trouble again. The country lanes around here are already in a sorry state from all the artics and HGVs trying to find routes avoiding the previous blocades. Mud everywhere and more Diversion signs than I have ever seen before.
Anyone heard anything about renewed activity?

[Hotrodder]

Just found a video clip on the "ouest france" website. It seems core group of farmers from the Callac area are dissatisfied with unfulfilled promises after the much larger national demos in January and have decided to reignite the flames.
Question: Do burning tyres give a BBQ a bad taste?

[Blaze]

@Hotrodder According to the news last night, they've been demonstrating down south in Marseille and in other places around the country. Film showed them ramming a building and causing severe damage. They also tipped manure all over the place.
Goodness knows what damage their vehicles are doing to the roads in towns .... and who is going to pay for the clearing up ?
Thank heavens it seems to have gone quiet here ........

[Quiksilver]

Just found a video clip on the "ouest france" website. It seems core group of farmers from the Callac area are dissatisfied with unfulfilled promises after the much larger national demos in January and have decided to reignite the flames.
Question: Do burning tyres give a BBQ a bad taste?

Answer: No but government lies and fobbing-off do.....

[MAD87]

Question: Do burning tyres give a BBQ a bad taste?

Answer: No but government lies and fobbing-off do.....

Unfortunately, the "public purse" isn't botomless. Some of us have seen decades of stupid EU farming policies, stupid farming practices and damagiing action by farmers. It's one of those huge dossiers like education, which needs a set of priorities laid down, whilst being sufficiently flexible to take account of unforeseen circumstances. Ongoing training for farmers and business instruction wouldn't hurt. That all may seem a bit pompous and ponderous but I've had many a farmer "confess" his sins over the years.

[Blaze]

Ongoing training for farmers and business instruction wouldn't hurt. That all may seem a bit pompous and ponderous but I've had many a farmer "confess" his sins over the years.

Totally agree, MAD.
TV interviews of farmers who are genuinely trying to work practically and ecologically (planting trees, going bio, not using toxic products etc etc) are transmitted to pacify the public into thinking that such farmers are making a difference. Sadly they are a drop in the ocean and all appear not to be large concerns. Farmers are told that only big concerns will succeed so many overstretch themselves financially and struggle with repayments and the unending administrative paperwork and demands and end up in a pickle.

It would be idyllic to see farmers farming the way their forefathers did, but in today's world where everyone wants everything now, it will never happen. Farmers don't want to live the way their forefathers did and it would appear that agricultural colleges etc encourage practices that are expensive and unecological.
Going bio is very expensive which explains why many won't go there. Farmers have to repay their loans for expensive machinery and buildings so are unable to drop their prices - small wonder they cannot compete with cheaper imports from countries like Ukraine.

[Quiksilver]

Question: Do burning tyres give a BBQ a bad taste?

Answer: No but government lies and fobbing-off do.....

Unfortunately, the "public purse" isn't botomless. Some of us have seen decades of stupid EU farming policies, stupid farming practises and damagiing action by farmers. It's one of those huge dossiers like education, which needs a set of priorities laid down, whilst being sufficiently flexible to take account of unforeseen circumstances. Ongoing training for farmers and business instruction wouldn't hurt. That all may seem a bit pompous and ponderous but I've had many a farmer "confess" his sins over the years.

Not pompous or ponderous at all, MAD, I know they're not all honest sons of the soil toiling from dawn til dusk for a pittance Their biggest grievance is with EU policies, though, and how can they do anything about those, other than to try to get an uncaring Government to fight on their side? They don't want subsidies, they want a level playing field throughout Europe and to be able to produce their goods so they can sell competitively. It's a pipe dream, as is the idealist notion of a united Europe. It's too big, too diverse and run too corruptly to ever please everyone. But they've got to do something At least some of them realise that annoying the general public isn't the right way to go about it and target the politicians and their lairs, who just possibly could get them a better deal.
Just as an aside, I know from personal experience that bad farming practices such as indiscriminate overuse of chemicals is a direct result of hard sell by the suppliers of said chemicals. Not directly by the manufacturers but definitely by Companies like Terres de Sud, whose 'techniciens'' word is gospel to a lot of the more impressionable farmers. It all comes down to 'ching, ching'.

[Headers]

Farmers have blocked the A62 from Agen towards Montauban again this evening 21/2/24

[Quiksilver]

Lot et Garonne seems to have a particularly strong 'force'. Probably comes from it relying principally on agriculture for it's livelihood?