Grief and shock at farmers’ protests in France: A farmer dies from a blockade as protests continue to escalate after a meeting with Prime Minister Attal.
There has been one death and two seriously injured in the ongoing farmers’ protests in France. A farmer was killed at a blockade post on a national road from Toulouse towards Spain, said the president of the farmers’ association FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau. Her husband and a daughter were critically injured. The three were apparently behind a straw blockade in Pamiers when a driver tried to break through the roadblock, broadcaster BFMTV reported.
French farmers expanded their protests after a meeting of agricultural associations with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Monday evening. South of Lyon, the important north-south highway A7 near Albon was blocked by around 20 farmers with their tractors in both directions during the night, as the prefecture announced.
According to the authorities, blockades on several highways continued in the Toulouse area in southern France. The motorway from Bordeaux towards Spain was interrupted in both directions in Bayonne, not far from the border. Rail traffic between Bordeaux and Toulouse continued to be hindered by protesting farmers on Tuesday, and rail operator SNCF reported fires near the tracks. Farmers light fires in barrels at their protest posts.
The protest from France’s farmers revolves around excessive regulations, the income situation, energy costs and, as in Germany, the price of agricultural diesel. In southern areas, the water supply to companies is increasingly becoming a problem due to climate change.
Source: Stern
