Farmers in Bordeaux protest against decline in winemaking

Farmers in Bordeaux, France, staged protests on Monday against the decline of agriculture and winemaking, which they believe has resulted from a lack of government support, the Rural Coordination trade union said, Report informs via Russian media.

The farmers came out to protest at a time when a meeting of regional councilors of Nouvelle-Aquitaine was taking place in Bordeaux.

“Several hundred unionized farmers, as well as independent farmers, have been waiting for them since early morning. Over the past 20 years, every fourth farm in Nouvelle-Aquitaine has closed, the number of livestock has decreased by hundreds of thousands of head, and winemaking is disappearing. We demand support for farmers,” union head Véronique Le Flock said.

From Monday night, the union is staging a protest at the building of the regional council “to save 60,000 farms.” Several hundred farmers and about 60 tractors are participating in the protest. At night, they blocked the entrance to the building with uprooted grapevines and manure. Later in the morning, protesters also dumped tires and straw near the fences and tried to set them on fire. The police intervened and tear gas was used.