French farmers rip up speed cameras and dump them outside tax office

Farmers in central France ripped up two speed cameras before leaving them outside a tax office at the start of this week, during a protest over rising fuel prices.

Around 200 farmers joined demonstrations outside the Rodez (Aveyron) centre des finances publiques on Monday evening (September 21), in a protest organised by the Coordination Rurale farming union. 

Protesters dumped tyres outside the building, as well as two speed cameras they had torn down from roads in the department.

A video of the farmers bringing the speed cameras to the demonstration can be seen here.

In turn, the government has filed a complaint against the farmers for the action.

Lorry drivers are poised to carry out their own protests next week, and are set to meet in the coming days to decide on future action. 

The transport sector is facing a “difference in treatment that is incomprehensible, deeply unfair, and now intolerable,” said general delegate of logistics union Organisation des transporteurs routiers européens (OTRE) Jean-Marc Rivera to public service broadcaster FranceInfo this morning.

While no concrete action has been confirmed, protests earlier this year over the fuel crisis saw truckers block several roads and motorways, backed by OTRE and other unions.

Recent protests by fishers across southern France – blockading ports over fuel price anger – and the threat of a new round of gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protests in October leave France teetering on the edge of chaos. 

Farmers target speed cameras

It comes after farmers in Vienne vandalised seven speed cameras last week, although these protests were aimed at excessive inspections on farmers amid water restrictions, and not directly over fuel costs.

A number of Coordination Rurale protests in recent weeks have seen speed cameras targeted, including in the Tarn department, and protests in Ariège also took place at the start of the week. 

“We are responding to the state by taking away its cash cow: the speed cameras. We get flashed every day, we’ve had enough,” said Coordination Rurale president in the Occitanie region Eloi Nespoulous, quoted in Actu.

Fuel crisis anger 

The union called the protests in light of ever-increasing fuel costs, which are impacting several sectors including the agriculture industry. 

“The state treats us like puppets,” said the union in a press release over Monday’s demonstration.

“Fuel prices are rising, operating costs are skyrocketing, and the pressure is becoming unbearable,” it added. 

On Tuesday evening the government announced a series of aid packages to combat the cost of rising fuel prices.

For farmers, an extension of fuel subsidies for GNR (gazole non-routier, used in farming machinery such as tractors) at €0.15 per litre until the end of the year had already been announced last week, and was reaffirmed by the government.

No new aid schemes were announced for the sector however, and there is little chance that farmers will be satisfied with this alone.

More protests to come? Yellow vests involvement? 

The union called on several other sectors to join them for the protests, including self-employed workers, truck drivers – who as mentioned may be launching their own protests – and construction sector workers and businesses. 

There has not been any report of a future national day of protests being organised by the union, however French farming groups typically organise demonstrations sporadically and at a local level.

It is relatively rare for major, organised protests in a single location to take place, however this has happened in recent years, most notably last winter when farmers protested against the Mercosur (EU-South America free trade agreement). 

The call by the union for backing from other sectors facing fuel challenges does however point towards a potential attempt at coalition building. 

If groups organise to protest together at the same time, it could bring chaos to France, particularly through the blocking of roads by truckers and farmers. 

At the same time, the union is staying coy over the renewed gilets jaunes (yellow vests) movements. 

A reignition of the populist protests is set for October 17, and could receive wide support across France. 

If farmers also join the protests, or organise joint action on the same days, it could leave the state stretched in its response.