Farmers鈥� protests ease but key motorway blockades hold firm in south-west France
Pressure on the government over its handling of cattle culls continues as Christmas nears despite a drop in protests
Vinci Autoroutes warned of continued difficulties between Bayonne and Toulouse, affecting access to the Pyrenees in particular
Ekaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock
French farmers鈥� protests against mass cattle culls are easing as the Christmas holidays begin, but major motorway blockades remained in place across the south-west on Sunday.
While dozens of protest sites were dismantled on Saturday, the A64 between Toulouse and Bayonne and the A63 south of Bordeaux were still partially closed, with some farmers rejecting calls for a Christmas truce.
According to the Interior Ministry, 50 protest actions were recorded nationwide by Saturday evening, involving some 1,600 people.
This compares with 93 actions and nearly 4,000 protesters on Friday, signalling a clear deescalation as holiday traffic builds.
Several high-profile blockades were lifted during the weekend. The A75 reopened south of the Millau viaduct, the A89 was cleared near P茅rigueux, and traffic resumed through the Lioran tunnel in the Cantal.
Barricades were also removed on the A20 near Brive and on the A89 at Ussel, while the north of Limoges was declared fully reopened by the prefecture. Despite this, the south-west remains the main focus of disruption.
On Sunday morning, Vinci Autoroutes warned of continued difficulties between Bayonne and Toulouse, particularly affecting access to the Pyrenees.
The A64 remains closed across a stretch of more than 180km, from Haute-Garonne to Pyr茅n茅es-Atlantiques.
The A63 blockade at Cestas, near Bordeaux, is also ongoing, although traffic is allowed in the Bordeaux鈥揃ayonne direction via a short diversion. In Ari猫ge, the RN20 at Tarascon-sur-Ari猫ge remains blocked for heavy vehicles travelling towards Andorra.
Farmers鈥� unions insist the easing of action does not mark an end to the movement. Coordination rurale said it was maintaining pressure ahead of further talks with Prime Minister S茅bastien Lecornu in early January, while the Conf茅d茅ration paysanne confirmed that local actions would continue.
On Saturday evening, Mr Lecornu said vaccination coverage had reached 50% of cattle in Ari猫ge, more than 70% in Aude and 100% in Pyr茅n茅es-Orientales, with around one in five cattle vaccinated across the ten affected departments.
