Farmers demonstrate in front of the Château de Chambord

Around a hundred farmers occupied part of the gardens of the national estate of Chambord (Loir-et-Cher) on Thursday February 15 in the afternoon, at the call of the local rural coordination, noted an AFP journalist .

Arriving at the end of the morning on a little more than sixty tractors, the farmers parked their machines about a hundred meters from the castle, before deploying protest banners.

“We didn't want to prevent people from working, but we also wanted a media impact. We are lucky to have Chambord in the department. And it also symbolizes the fact that we are always the beggars against the kings,” said explained Axel Masson, head of Rural Coordination in the south of Loir-et-Cher.

The farmers present demanded in vain a trip from the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau, himself elected from the department.

The prefect of Loir-et-Cher came to hear their demands, in particular on administrative simplification and the income problems encountered by operators, noted AFP.

“We wanted the minister to come, but that was not possible due to his trip to the Pyrénées-Orientales today, to meet other farmers. We still had an interview with his office and the prefect ", declared Mr. Masson, indicating that he had obtained an interview in the presence of the minister "within 48 hours".

“The majority of the tractors here belong to people who are not unionized. At the Rural Coordination, we also wanted the non-unionized to be heard,” added the farmer, at the head of a cattle farm in Langon- sur-Cher (Loir-et-Cher).

Since the lifting of the blockades, farmers have maintained pressure on the government and threatened further action.

They planned to leave the national domain at the end of the afternoon or early evening, indicated the Rural Coordination.