Despite earlier government announcements of financial support for agricultural producers, farmers have decided to extend the blockades, impacting domestic and international transport and causing delivery delays and disruption to freight transport.
In the north of the country, sections of the A27 and A2 motorways towards Belgium have been blocked, making road transit towards France’s north-western borders more difficult.
In the south-west of the country, traffic jams are reported on the A63 and A64 motorways and on the N20 road. In the Bayonne, Anglet and Biarritz area, traffic is heavily restricted, as it is in Pau, where a demonstration involving 22 farm tractors and hundreds of participants completely blocked Boulevard des Pyrénées.
In Landes—around Dax and Mont-de-Marsan, for example—farmers positioned tractors and agricultural machinery on key bridges and roundabouts, leading to significant delays in road traffic. In Dordogne, around 40 tractors and 100 farmers gathered in front of the prefecture in Périgueux to symbolically express their opposition to the EU–Mercosur agreement.
Port blockades and transport inspections
In Charente-Maritime, in La Rochelle, farmers blocked access to the La Pallice fuel terminal using straw bales and tractors. Similar actions are also taking place at the port of Bayonne, where grain-handling facilities have been blocked.
Some actions are in the nature of checks, such as inspections of transported goods in Le Havre, where around 150 farmers were checking shipments, without completely blocking entry to the port.
Protests in a broader context
The protests are a response to the signing of the Mercosur agreement. French farmers are also opposed to government measures linked to the outbreak of lumpy skin disease in cattle, which, combined with the trade deal, is further fuelling tensions in the agricultural sector.
Impact on transport and logistics
Today’s protests mean delivery delays, difficulties in route planning and the need to bypass key transport corridors for logistics operators. Transport companies must factor in temporary road closures and the possibility of port blockades, as well as the risk of recurring protest action over the coming days.
Road transport and deliveries to ports in south-west France remain seriously disrupted, and a full return to normal traffic flow will only be possible once the protest action ends.
