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France: Farmers block the port of Bordeaux, the government promises to act

by AI | 21.Nov 2024 | Europe in brief AI

French farmers blocked the port of Bordeaux on Thursday, demanding the government lift the ban on certain pesticides. The demonstrations, which began on Sunday, are also directed against the free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries of Latin America.

Tires burn during a blockade by members of the Rural Coordination of the port of Bordeaux, in southwest France, on November 21, 2024, on the fifth day of a national protest against the EU-Mercosur deal. (Photo: Thibaud MORITZ / AFP)

Bordeaux (France) – French farmers in anger maintained their blockade of the port of Bordeaux on Thursday, as the Agriculture Minister promised to tackle the problem of banned pesticides.

The troops of the Coordination Rurale union dumped mountains of earth and waste. The prefecture counted 50 tractors and 150 people.

The port authorities expressed their “incomprehension”: “Bordeaux is a cereal export port serving the regional agricultural sector” and “does not import cereals.” The Coordination Rurale claims otherwise.

The farmers, particularly sugar beet and hazelnut producers, are demanding a neurotoxic insecticide, banned in France but allowed elsewhere in the EU.

“What is allowed in Europe should also be allowed in France,” said Minister Annie Genevard in La Couture (northern France). She promised “announcements on simplification measures.”

Farmers also oppose the free trade agreement between the EU and the Latin American Mercosur countries. (November 21, 2024)