French farmers protest urban snobbery and neglect
Ramin Mazaheri
Press TV, Paris
Farmers blocked key highways and protested across France in what they say is just a warning shot to the government of Emmanuel Macron.
France is the undisputed geographic breadbasket of Western Europe. But instead of embracing their strong rural culture urbanites, ecologists and the mainstream media are routinely accused of what is known in France as “agribashing”.
Another reason for the protest is the unending stream of free trade agreements which put French farmers at a disadvantage. As capitalist globalization tears down tariffs which protected French farmers, suicides and bankruptcies have skyrocketed while wages have plummeted.
A third of French farmers only earn 350 euros per month which is just 30% of the French minimum wage. Farmers obviously do most of the heavy lifting but the bulk of the money is taken by middlemen and distributors.
France’s failure to keep its rural-urban divide from becoming so inflamed is a key reason for the explosion of the rural-based Yellow Vest movement.
Yellow Vests have also refused to join forces with unions and mainstream political parties. However, the complaints of Yellow Vests and of farmers have much in common: a lack of rural-urban equality regarding infrastructure, wages, pensions, education and many other areas controlled by government policy and influenced by mainstream cultural institutions.
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