Is France at War?

1,111 words, 6 minutes read time.

Well, is France at war? Not yet in any ‘conventional’ sense (though as part of the EU the government looks set to declare war on Russia in February) – and it has yet to descend into an (un)civil war. It might not be far off the latter which would likely erupt in the infamous banlieue. It’s probably being held off for the moment by the government pumping in huge amounts of money. Where I live, the area is receiving about 400,000,000 euros – about 20,000 euros per person. That’s just one small part of the banlieue of Grand Paris. A civil war might kick off if food shortages hit. The third likely route to civil unrest (and tied into the second) comes from the ‘Farmers Rebellion’ which has just been joined by French fisherman – the final straw for them being no longer allowed to fish in the Bay of Biscay. Let’s just say things are ‘heating up’.

As I write (29^th January), the farmers should be blockading the area around Roissy (affecting the huge airport Paris Charles-de-Gaulle north-east of the city). As with farmers across Europe there seems to be an asserted attack upon them – some mirroring Stalin’s quote on the need to collectivise: ‘Can we advance our socialized industry at an accelerated rate as long as we have an agricultural base, such as is provided by small-peasant farming [Kulaks]‘. The independent farmer is perceived as a threat. The road to net-zero carbon can only come with the eradication of the modern day ‘Kulak’. Farmers have been urged to use less nitrogen-based fertiliser and are seen as a problem simply for growing food! The new collectivisation by big corporations/governments seems imminent. But the farmers are fighting back. In France, farmers have a ‘reputation’. And they’re beginning to live up to it. Having spent time amassing outside Toulouse and blocking a 300 km (180 mile) stretch of motorway, they are now perhaps about to lay siege to Paris – along with the fishermen and farmers arriving from the north of France.

France’s new Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, has admitted that he should have offered the farmers a better deal and has promised to offer more. Unfortunately a few ‘false flags’ have been spotted: Jerome Bayle [no pun intended] presented himself as a representative of the farmers and in particular the group that suffered the death of a woman and her 12 year-old daughter. They were manning a road block when a very expensive car driven by Armenians rammed into them. The Armenians were on their way to Spain and were on a OQTF – Obligation de Quitter Territoire Francais. (Her husband, the girl’s father, is currently in a critical condition. Their ten year-old daughter was not present.) Thus – tensions are extremely high. Back to Bayle – he has links with the FNSEA (the largest farmers union). The media helped establish him as a ‘leader’, he was always on TV and was filmed giving (passing) something to the Minister of Ecology. Bayle refused to comment on this – but has recently stated he was giving the minister a note about a woman who needed help! As soon as Attal gave his initial announcements (which had already been agreed to by the FNSEA) Bayle shook his hand (again on TV) and said that the farmers had got everything they wanted and were ‘going home’. Unfortunately the government isn’t able to deliver on these promises because of the EU. Attal has affirmed that France must stay with the EU as the farmers receive nine billion euros annually. France gives 23 billion and gets 12 billion back (including the nine for the farmers). A net loss of course. On BFM TV (one of the main channels in France) a female farmer was also interviewed praising the government. She had been introduced as an ‘ordinary farmer’. Later it was discovered she’s an MP (Deputy) of Macron’s ‘Renaissance Party’ (formerly En Marche).

Farmers are now taking direct action. They have been dumping hay bales outside government buildings and spraying them with liquid manure. An RP deputy’s house also got sprayed. Farmers have been stopping lorries bringing in food – giving the contents to the charity organisation Les Restos du Coeur or burning what was inside. They have caught lorries bringing in frozen meat from Argentina (dated 2022) thus predating the proposed Mercosur Agreement (South American agreement). As the meat discovered predates the soon to be signed agreement it seems likely trade has been happening for some time. Another lorry contained beef, its provenance stating that the calves had been born in Austria, transported to Argentina, culled in America, transported to France, then finally cut up and prepared. Thus becoming Produce of France!
           

The Minister of the Interior has been told NOT to stop the farmers action, probably for fear of escalating tension. Having said that, as of Sunday the 28^th January, Rungis, the largest market in the world and situated in Paris, has seen the arrival of armoured vehicles and personnel. Paris has three days supply of food. If there’s a shortage THAT is when the banlieue could well erupt. However 80% plus of French people are in full support and agreement with the farmers and their actions.
           

What’s the farmer’s ‘beef’ [pun intended]? They are exasperated by the bureaucracy and laws of the EU. Regulations are constantly changing and French farmers have to obey all the directives yet are in competition with farmers from elsewhere who don’t. Today, for instance, a lorry from Ukraine carrying non-EU standard eggs was stopped and exposed. Electricity and diesel prices have also risen to a crippling rate. Once retired, farmers who have worked all their life on a small farm, say, will get a pension of only 800 euros a month. The minimum for a newly arrived foreigner who has never worked in France is 960 euros. Farmers are simply looking for fair treatment. In 1992 there were 1.1 million farmers/farm workers – today there are 400,000.
           

Up until the present there has been no violence associated with the farmers rebellion – mainly because the majority of people are with them. They have not entered any government buildings – but have, as stated, sprayed them with liquid manure. Town and village signs have been inverted to show support across the nation and profile pictures on social media turned upside down too. One TV channel ‘C News’ (regarded as ‘right wing’) has inverted their logo. 
           

Macron is currently in India and while demonstrations were taking place his wife threw a party with Rihanna invited as a guest. Remind me – what year was the Revolution?
            More news to come!

By Tim Bragg

Picture credit: By Raymond Trencavel – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=144493666