The French government on Friday warned protesting farmers against erecting blockades during the festive season, while unions were divided over further tactics in a standoff over a cow disease.
For more than a week, farmers in the southwest of the country have staged protests against a mass cull of cows to contain the spread of nodular dermatitis, widely known as lumpy skin disease.
They have blocked roads, sprayed manure and dumped garbage in front of government offices to force the authorities to review their mass slaughter policy.
Read moreFrench PM urged to intervene as farmers keep up road blocks over cow ‘mass slaughter’
The farmers have also been angered over a trade deal under negotiation between the European Union and South American bloc Mercosur, which was this week postponed to January.
On Friday, farmers staged a protest in the northern resort city of Le Touquet, placing a coffin outside the residence of French President Emmanuel Macron.Â
In the northern town of Alencon, a protester threw red paint in front of a public building.
Representatives of farmers’ unions were received by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Friday but their leaders were divided over the next course of action.
After the meeting, the hardline Coordination Rurale (CR), which has been spearheading the protests together with the Confédération Paysanne union, stopped short of calling for a Christmas truce and the removal of the roadblocks.
CR head Bertrand Venteau said it would be up to union leaders on the ground to decide what to do next, but nevertheless asked the protesting farmers to “go and rest” for several days.
“The population is behind us, we can’t alienate them,” said Venteau.
He suggested there was “a glimmer of hope” that a solution could be found in early January to put an end to the mass slaughter of herds.
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Confédération Paysanne also indicated there was hope of coming to agreement. But spokesperson Stephane Galais said the union could not “call for the blockades to be lifted” without a commitment to stop a mass cull.
On Friday, government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said the authorities would not “tolerate new blockades” during the holiday season.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez called for farmers “to act responsibly”.
“The priority for us is really to avoid new blockades of major roads,” he said. “Many of our fellow citizens are going on vacation.”Â
The head of the main FNSEA union, Arnaud Rousseau, called for a “truce”, saying the prime minister planned to send a letter to the unions by Friday evening.
The Young Farmers union backed the call for a Christmas truce.
While many roadblocks were still in place, the first blockades were lifted on Friday afternoon.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)