The A7 blocked in the Drôme by farmers, several kilometers of traffic jams

Farmers continued to block the A22 motorway on Tuesday January 7 with around thirty tractors installed on both lanes in Drôme, causing several kilometers of traffic jams, after the death of a colleague on a dam in Ariège.

"This (Tuesday) morning at 04:00 a.m., farmers forced the service entrance to the A7 motorway at Saint-Rambert-d'Albon", an hour's drive south of Lyon, said the prefecture of Drôme in a press release.

“Around thirty tractors with trailers containing bales of straw and slurry are blocking traffic in both directions,” she added, specifying that they had put in place diversions to minimize disruption.

On site, the atmosphere was calm, a small barn was installed on the tarmac to shelter the demonstrators, according to AFP journalists.

“We are gone for the day, for the night... as long as concrete measures are not announced,” declared Thierry Sénéclauze, farmer in Drôme, denouncing “the toxic and Bolshevik standards” which weigh on the profession and “ environmental standards that serve no purpose.

He said he was very saddened by the news of the death of a farmer hit by a car at a dam in Ariège. “Our hearts go out to the families of the colleagues,” he confided, stressing that the demonstrators “are simply demanding to earn a decent living.”

At a point at 10:00 a.m., the Drôme prefecture noted five kilometers of traffic jams in the north/south direction and six kilometers in the opposite direction. Vinci Autoroutes and the gendarmerie were mobilized to try to evacuate the approximately 1.500 cars and trucks stuck on the highway.

Motorway users are invited to obtain information via radio 107.7 and social networks, to “remain calm” and to “defer any unnecessary travel”.

Farmers have been stepping up their actions for several days to obtain an improvement in their working conditions and their remuneration.

The FRSEA of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is planning new actions in the days to come. From this Tuesday afternoon on the A75 in Cantal, but also “in Lyon, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne” from Wednesday, warned its president, Michel Joux.

After the accident in Ariège, the federation “gave safety instructions”. “We are going to be very careful about these things,” he stressed.

Monday evening, the government welcomed the majority unions for a little over two hours, without any announcement at the exit.