Farmers’ mobilizations are declining this Friday, February 2 after the call from the majority unions to lift the blockades. However, several roadblocks are maintained on the roads.
The anger of the farmers forced the government to make a third round of announcements and even imposed itself on the discussions in Brussels on February 1st. The measures presented by the Prime Minister and Emmanuel Macron’s political speech during an extraordinary European Council were well received by the unions who welcomed these “tangible progress”. In reaction, the two majority unions, the FNSEA and Jeunes Agricultures, called on the demonstrators to “suspend the blockades” and the blockades are actually starting to be lifted this Friday, February 2.
The blockages are mostly lifted or should be lifted during the day, notably some that have been in place for several days or since the start of the movement: the A62 between Agen and Montauban is reopened, the A6, the A7 and the A43 in the vicinity of Lyon must also be freed and even in Paris some blockages must end, notably on the A6 in Essonne.
The fact remains that some farmers refuse to put an end to the blockages and disobey the instructions of the FNSEA and Young Farmers. They then joined the Peasant Confederation, one of the only unions to want to continue the blockades. Among the significant blockages still in progress are several mobilizations in Ile-de-France, the blockade of Saint-Rambert-d’Albon on the A7, in Drôme, or the mobilization on the A51 near Aix- in Provence.
? Find the map of farmers’ mobilizations in France
The farmers’ movement continues this Friday in Ile-de-France on the A1 towards Paris which is closed between Senlis and Roissy-en-France. It is also closed at Épiais-lès-Louvres. The A5 motorway is also closed between Réau and Moissy-Cramayel. The A6 for its part is closed between Savigny-sur-Orge and Wissous. Between Mantes Est and Flins, the A13 is closed in both directions. The A15 is closed near Argenteuil towards Paris. The A16 is blocked in both directions between Isle-Adam and Hardvillers. For secondary acts, the Nationale 12 remains closed in both directions between Plaisir and Méré in Yvelines.
Elsewhere in France, mobilizations are still underway in Brittany around Brest, in Carhaix and near Lorient in Morbihan. Further east, blockages continue around Dijon, particularly on the A31 to Beaune. In the south, towards Avignon and Aix-en-Provence where the movement began, blockages persist but are losing their intensity. In total, just over 20 blockades are still in progress across the country.
If the blockages and mobilizations seem to be decreasing, the president of the FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau declared on BFMTV this Friday morning that the anger of the farmers is “not at all behind us”. He added: “We are giving ourselves until June to have a law. If we were not considered, we will do it again.”