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Threatening SMS, photo of shed on fire… a member of the Confédération paysanne recounts the pressure from local representatives of the FNSEA
Threatening SMS, photo of shed on fire… a member of the Confédération paysanne recounts the pressure from local representatives of the FNSEA
(ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATION/FRANCE 2)
After the angry movement of the agricultural world which shook the country, “Additional investigation” looks at the powerful FNSEA. Largely in the majority in the profession, the union crushes the competition… In this extract, a member of the Confédération paysanne recounts a series of intimidations coming from the highest local level, against a backdrop of conflict around mega-basins.
The Confédération paysanne, a union anchored on the left, has never been well regarded among the number 1 in the profession, the behemoth FNSEA, but in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, tensions have exacerbated in recent years. The two camps are in direct opposition over the mega-basinsthese artificial water reservoirs – and more since the Sainte-Soline demonstration in March 2023.
Certain chambers of agriculture, departmental bodies overwhelmingly dominated by the FNSEA, cite this disagreement to refuse subsidies to the Peasant Confederation. Benoît Jaunet, a breeder who is also spokesperson for the latter in Deux-Sèvres and demonstrated against illegal water retention, has not received any for two years. But, with certain messages coming from executives of the local branch of the FNSEA, the conflict took on another dimension.
“It could be considered death threats.”
The breeder filed a handrail after text messages that he considered threatening. In November 2021, after his participation in an anti-basin demonstration, the former president of the FNSEA79 advised him, for example, to “think about [s]on agricultural environment”. A year later, just after another gathering of opponents, his successor took over. On Facebook, he says “warm for a festive evening on the farm” by Benoît Jaunet… under a photo of a burning shed. This is cause for concern, especially since the farm has already suffered an arson attack, the perpetrators of which have never been arrested.
On the other hand, the author of the first threatening SMS messages was able to be questioned by “Additional investigation”. Alan Chabauty chaired the FNSEA79 from 2013 to 2020. According to his statements, he only wanted to warn the spokesperson for the Peasant Confederation that “Who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind” and that’“by dint of being extremist”… According to him, the climate is explosive: “One day, someone will lose their temper, it can’t happen any other way.” For some farmers, he adds, it is now “one gun per car, one gun per tractor”.
What do we think about Paris headquarters of the FNSEA of such an attitude on the part of its local representatives? Questioned by “Complément d’investigation”, Arnaud Rousseau, the new leader of the union, condemns “without ambiguity” any form of violence.
Extract from “Agriculture: who does the FNSEA work for?”, a document to be seen in “Additional investigation” on February 29, 2024.
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