Early afternoon on a recent November Friday, Christophe Piquet set off by tractor along the roads of the Gard department, southern France. He was off to deliver hay to an equestrian center some 10 kilometers away. Aged 46, the cooperative winegrower and stockbreeder from Bezouce, a commune on the outskirts of Nîmes, offers this kind of service to supplement his income.

The son, grandson, and great-grandson of farmers, benefited from the family land when he set up. He now manages 160 hectares of organic farmland, some 40 hectares owned and the rest rented. "Land has become inaccessible. It's almost impossible to buy land," explained the divorced father of three, who said he's ready to get back into the swing of things.

In the Gard department, farmers' anger has been mounting for several weeks. First, town signs were covered in tarpaulins, before the gates of the prefecture suffered the same fate... Actions that hint at the arrival of a new, large-scale farmers' protest movement. "From Monday [November 18] onwards, we're going to light distress fires," said David Sève, head of the Gard Departmental Federation of Farmers' Unions (FDSEA), who continued: "We have not been heard on important issues such as tax-free premiums for uprooting vines, constraints on pesticides without substitutes, Mercosur, or support for farmers in serious difficulty, or the specific characteristics of our Gard region's agriculture."

'It's the government that's being targeted'

FDSEA member Piquet plans to take part in the movement: "It's the government that's being targeted. We're not going to block traffic or penalize the population, but we want to make ourselves heard." And he immediately added, almost discouraged: "I had no idea we'd have to get back into action so soon."

Here in the Gard department, the farmers' protest movement, which completely blocked the A9 highway, lasted 10 days. It was an unprecedented event in the department. Emergency aid was paid out following the mobilization (€8.53 million for 982 farms), but the Gard farming community feels that other promises have not been kept. "The simplification measures have not seen the light of day. In organic farming, we've achieved nothing. Many people are desperate and no longer believe in the movement. I have a friend who sold his land and gave up his profession," testified Piquet.

He continues to resist. But at what cost? Over the last few years, he has seen one difficulty follow another. First, he gave up growing melons, which were too unprofitable, then, he suffered drought on his vineyard plots. "In 2018, I took a big beating in the vines, and this year I've lost 70% of my production due to mildew," confided the winegrower, who has to review his business model. "I've got 25 hectares of vines left, everything else is for cows and hay. I'm going to sell 4 of them, I'm uprooting 11 with [government] aid and I'm keeping 10. It's heartbreaking, but the prices aren't profitable. I have no choice," admitted the farmer, who works with a farmhand.

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