Violent clashes between farmers and police force in the West – Le Figaro

Violent clashes took place for more than four hours between farmers and police in Saint-Lô in the administrative buildings of the Prefecture of the Channel.

The meeting between the President of the Republic, François Hollande, and that of the FNSEA, Xavier Beulin on Tuesday morning in Paris will have failed to calm the anger of farmers. On the contrary, in the field, the mobilization has spread throughout France with snails operations, as at Boulogne-sur-Mer with over 500 tractors and mobilized in the Tarn-et-Garonne. It was at Saint-Lô in the English Channel, the leading French dairy department, the tension between farmers and police force was most lively. About 250 farmers, came aboard 60-80 tractors with their full rubbish bins, participated in a demonstration which began shortly before noon at the prefecture of the Channel to finish in an atmosphere of tear gas over 4 hours before the DDTM (Departmental Directorate of territories and the sea). “The atmosphere was very tense because the prefect sent us from the start of the event CRS says the Figaro Ludovic Blin, chairman of the dairy branch of the FNSEA in the Channel itself breeder. It is expected that measures up to the plight of farmers. People their tongues and despair was at its height. ” It also deplores two suicides of farmers in recent days in the southern department and which have been confirmed by the authorities. “It seems that the government does nothing to meet the force, adds Jean-Hugues Lorault, president of JA (Young Farmers) of the Channel. This put everyone on edge. ”

bins and burnt tires

Repoussé in the streets surrounding the prefecture, the demonstrators threw various projectiles such as tires and glass bottles towards the forces of order. In turn, these have used tear gas and water cannons. Bins and tires were also burnt. Farmers have spilled many rubbish and manure in the streets. They then headed to the DDTM, where they dumped the manure and straw bales before being again, pushed back by the police. According to the prefecture, there is no “no major damage” to deplore this Tuesday evening, “except the grid of the Prefecture who was forced.” Agricultural trade union bodies of the Channel were consulting in the late afternoon for future arrangements to give the movement. “We were presented the plan to support farming as a significant aid. But in reality, farmers can claim only peanuts, or even nothing at all, for lack of ambition of those in power, they denounce. If nothing concrete is advertised to calm the situation in the country will continue the mobilization. ”

A slim hope remains according to them, but it may be vain: see the proposal of the law on agricultural competitiveness, the Senate adopted a few days ago, to be voted by the National Assembly on Thursday. “That would be a first encouraging sign,” says Ludovic Blin. Problem: this hypothesis is very unlikely, the two rooms with different majorities. Meanwhile farmers maintain pressure. Alain Juppe, campaigning for the primaries, will visit him at a Breton farm with Dominique Bussereau and Hervé Gaymard.