Hundreds of farmers answered the call of the FNSEA, the country's largest farmers union, and demonstrated September 10 in front of dozens of prefectures, the local centers of the government administration.
These rallies follow dozens of similar actions that have been taking place throughout France on a daily basis. On September 2, about 350 dairy farmers in the Mayenne region demonstrated in front of several giant milk distributors and supermarkets protesting falling milk prices. Big industrial dairy companies had just announced their decision to lower milk prices by 5.4 centimes a liter. In the suburbs of Rennes in the Brittany region, 200 farmers blocked access to a supermarket. Similar actions took place in other regions the same day.
In Saint-Rémy-de-Province in southern France, several dozen fruit and vegetable farmers dumped potatoes in front of two supermarkets. The same day a hundred dairy farmers blocked access to the Danone factory in Neufchâtel-en-Bray. Danone is a giant capitalist corporation that dominates the milk industry.
On August 27, some 50 farmers from Cavaillon in southern France forced the assistant director of a local supermarket to pick apples on a nearby farm while wearing a poster saying, "My occupation: I kidnap the farmers' income."
In August a number of actions of an openly nationalist character were organized by the Confédération Paysanne (Peasant Confederation), a smaller group representing 19 percent of farmers in France. The larger FNSEA represents 60 percent of farmers.
These actions advanced the French bourgeoisie's "anti-Americanism," directed at beating competition from Washington by rallying support for French protectionism. They were directed against McDonald's, seen here as a symbol of the influence and dominance in Europe of the U.S. ruling class. These actions were launched after a decision by the U.S. government to raise customs duties on various French products to 100 percent in retaliation for the decision to forbid the importation of beef from the United States from cattle treated with hormones.
During an action on August 12, which tried to break up a McDonald's under construction in Millau, located in the center of France, José Bové, a central leader of the Confédération Paysanne, was arrested.
A campaign with clearly anti-American character developed throughout the country to free Bové. It brought together forces from the far left to the far right. Bové was finally freed after posting 105,000 francs (US$1 = 6 FF) bail. One third of the bail came from U.S. farmers organizations.
Upon leaving prison, Bové declared that "the struggle continues in Seattle at the millennium round," referring to the upcoming meeting of the World Trade Organization in the United States.
Talking about the large support he got from both ends of the political spectrum, Bové declared: "In jail, what surprised me the most is that politicians from all sides have supported the meaning of our action. From Voynet [Green Party, part of the government coalition] to Saint-Josse [right wing] and from Krivine [Revolutionary Communist League] to Sarkozy [Gaullists]. There is a national consensus against 'junk food.' So let's take advantage of this momentum in public opinion to create the necessary balance of force before Seattle." Asked if he was not troubled by support from the fascist National Front of Le Pen, he answered that some people supported him without him asking them to do so.
Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevènement declared that while not supporting the form of action he easily understood the meaning of actions against McDonald's.
Not all farmers are sidetracked by the nationalist anti-American campaign. Many don't see Washington, but Paris, as the center of their problems. A dozen farmers came from the Lot-et Garonne department in southern France to protest and sell there goods in front of Montparnasse station in Paris on Saturday, September 11. They put up a large poster of the National Center of Young Farmers (CNJA) denouncing "the racket" of the big supermarkets.
"All their profits are made on our backs," one of the farmers who did not give his name told passersby. In discussions with Militant reporters, none of these farmers even mentioned the United States. They instead put great emphasis on the super profits made by the supermarkets and other merchants and big corporations. "Look at the fusion of Promodès and Carrefour," said one of the farmers. "They control everything and have us by the throat when they impose their own prices!" Promodès and Carrefour recently announced their future merger, giving birth to the second largest retail distributor in the world after the U.S. giant Wall Mart.
Two other events have given emphasis to this point of view. The first one was the announcement by Michelin, the giant tire company, that it would cut 7,500 jobs in Europe in the next three months.
This sparked anger among large layers of workers and working farmers all over France. Trade unions in Clermont-Ferrand, where the headquarters and main factories of the company are located, announced a one-day walkout and a national demonstration in the town on September 21.
The other event on the front page of newspapers was the two-day strike by workers who manufacture champagne. Through "negotiations" to implement the new 35-hour workweek law, the bosses of this highly profitable industry launched an offensive against workers by trying to change the framework of the champagne workers contract. They tried to cancel the champagne agreement and impose the wine and spirits one, which is less advantageous to employees.
One thousand workers demonstrated September 17 in front of Bruno Paillard Champagne, near Reims. The strike started the day before, paralyzing virtually the entire industry.
"This contract pays 30 percent less than ours," said Thierry Cordier, a General Confederation of Workers (CGT) member who was outside the building with a few other workers waiting to know the results of the negotiations taking place there. "We are ready to strike for weeks if they don't change their mind. Our future is at stake."
Eighty percent of the production workers at Mumm and 95 percent at Piper-Heidsick are on strike, the Militant reporters were told. Among the demands, apart from keeping the same contract, is to impose the same wage for temporary and permanent workers, to not include the break time in the reduction of working hours, and a 3 percent wage increase. "With the current contract, they're allowed to employ up to 10 percent of temporary workers. They're well over the top," Cordier said. "Wine harvest is due to start Tuesday," he added. "It's their choice whether grapes will be picked or not. This is our first strike at a time of harvest since 1986. We won't move."
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