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Farmers attempt ‘go-slow’ road protest over fuel prices near Toulouse
Farmers also attempted blockade of oil depot before it was broken up by police
Farmers in the south-west of France attempted a ‘go-slow’ operation to block roads into Toulouse today, before the demonstration was broken up by police officers.
Members of the Coordination Rurale group – responsible for several recent farmer protests in France – attempted to initially block an oil depot in Lespinasse (Haute-Garonne) over concerns at the high cost of fuel.
Around 70 farmers arrived overnight at the depot in order to set up the blockade.
Initial plans for an on/off blockade – closing the site for an hour, before opening it up to lorries for an hour, and repeating – were considered.
The depot is owned by TotalEnergies, which saw several of its own employees strike across France yesterday.
“The Coordination Rurale attempted to blockade the Lespinasse oil depot,” said the Haute-Garonne prefecture in an update this morning.
“They were prevented from doing so. Consequently, the depot is not blocked and is operating normally.”
The attempted blockade ended around 08:30.
Roadblock also stopped
Following the end of the oil depot action, farmers then attempted to block the main road heading south towards Toulouse via an opération escargot (a snail operation), a tactic of driving extremely slowly that is common in French industrial actions.
They were again prevented from doing so, and police have since begun to escort farmers and their tractors back to farms, the prefecture told local media outlets.
Farmers were protesting over the high cost of fuel.
“We are calling for a reduction in the price of non-road diesel (gazole non routier, GNR) and for it to be capped at €1 per litre, tax included,” said Maxime Raud, a farmer and president of Coordination Rurale in Haute-Garonne to Actu.
GNR is cheaper than standard diesel as several taxes are excluded, although it does not have a fixed price and costs can vary. It currently costs around €1.83 to €2 per litre across France.
It is only accessible to farmers and workers in certain industries, and cannot be used for road-going vehicles.
“We also want a reduction in the price of road diesel, because we have market gardeners who can no longer make ends meet,” the farmer added.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced on Wednesday the release of 10 million barrels of diesel into France across a three-month period, which should cut diesel prices by between 12c - 18c per litre.
Other grievances highlighted by the farmers include the switch to electronic billing.
“We achieved nothing by playing the negotiation and conciliation card with the prefecture,” said the group in a Facebook post this morning.
“A huge thank you to all the farmers from Gers and Tarn-et-Garonne who mobilised, and of course to all the farmers from Haute-Garonne… we aren't leaving empty-handed; the fight goes on, we have nothing left to lose!”
