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With rural discontent growing, Marine Le Pen\u2019s far-right party sees an opportunity ahead of the 2027 presidential election.<\/p>\n
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By MARION SOLLETY<\/strong> Photo-illustration by Andrei Cojocaru for POLITICO<\/p>\n This article is also available in:\u00a0French<\/a><\/p>\n Standing on the stage, Serge Bousquet-Cassagne looked down solemnly at his prot\u00e9g\u00e9, pointing his arm at him for all the farmers and their families to see.<\/p>\n \u201cI make you general of the army of the serfs,\u201d the 65-year-old leader said in a makeshift ceremony organized to honor regional leader Lionel Candelon, who stood before him in a large concrete hall on the outskirts of Auch, southwestern France.<\/p>\n Hundreds had gathered to celebrate a landmark victory for their movement: the\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0union, known for its signature yellow hats, had made unprecedented gains in February\u2019s farming union elections, breaking the hegemony of the establishment FNSEA in representing farmers in France and Brussels.<\/p>\n Bousquet-Cassagne\u2019s grand gesture \u2014 elevating Candelon to general \u2014 was both a nod to his military background and suited the farming union\u2019s muscular style.<\/p>\n The movement has been at the forefront of recent farmers\u2019 protests in France, outflanking the FNSEA with hard-hitting action, ranging from\u00a0confrontations with President Emmanuel Macron<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0setting manure on fire<\/a>\u00a0in front of government buildings, drawing criticism for what rivals say are intimidation tactics.<\/p>\n That evening however, the crowd was in a cheery mood, celebrating past\u00a0coups d\u2019\u00e9clat\u00a0and triumphs yet to come at long banquet tables decked out with yellow paper napkins and soon laid with roasted duck breast\u00a0<\/strong>and red wine.<\/p>\n Deep south<\/p>\n The movement was born 40 kilometers from Auch, in the heart of Gascony, a land of soft hills and green pastures just to the north of the Spanish border that is famed for its\u00a0foie gras, Armagnac brandy \u2014 and strong headed people.<\/p>\n Bousquet-Cassagne has made a trademark of his bullish manners and disregard for the law, boasting 17 court appearances over the years for actions ranging from vandalizing supermarkets to illegally constructing water basins used for irrigation.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this country if you don\u2019t burn cars you don\u2019t get acknowledged,\u201d he said at the rally. \u201cAnd you get fucked.\u201d<\/p>\n Bousquet-Cassagne is also one of the union\u2019s figures most closely associated with the French political far right, having called National Rally President Jordan Bardella \u201ctheir last hope<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n His outspoken support for the party, along with that of other\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0figures, has fueled speculation about the union\u2019s symbiotic relationship with Marine Le Pen\u2019s party as large chunks of the French countryside have swung to the far right over the last couple of years.<\/p>\n France\u2019s rural heartlands have been a big reservoir for growth for the National Rally over the past couple of years. After winning over disaffected industrial areas, the party has sought to capitalize on rural discontent and hardship, blaming mainstream parties for failed farming policies and accusing Brussels of exposing EU markets to cheaper and inferior foreign produce.<\/p>\n Support for nationalist parties is especially high among the ranks of the yellow hats: Sixty-two percent of them expressed support for the National Rally or the more extreme Reconqu\u00eate\u00a0in a poll<\/a>\u00a0conducted ahead of last June\u2019s European election by research institutes Cevipof and INP Ensat. That compared with 31 percent of supporters of the FNSEA \u2014 the National Federation of Agricultural Holders\u2019 Unions \u2014 slightly below the far right\u2019s actual vote share of the voting public.<\/p>\n While not everyone in the movement approves of Bousquet-Cassagne\u2019s style and outspoken support for the far right, most see him as a strong leader and a role model.<\/p>\n As he sipped his drink and greeted union members in Auch, Bousquet-Cassagne constantly interrupted himself to greet supporters, calling them \u201cthugs!\u201d and \u201cterrorists!\u201d in jest. Many approached for advice, especially on building water basins for irrigation, as\u00a0access to water<\/a>\u00a0has become a huge point of contention with environmentalists and local authorities as the weather grows drier and hotter in the region due to climate change.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019ll have built one the rest will follow,\u201d he told one of them, \u201ceven if jail time is what it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n Other yellow hat leaders have been at pains to soften its image in recent months and push back against the idea that the union has ties to the far right.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are using us, and we are maybe using them too, that\u2019s part of the game\u201d said\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0Vice-President Sophie Lenaerts. \u201cIf we can push our values and our positions\u2026 We will do that with everyone. Some are just taking in more than others.\u201d<\/p>\n Le Pen has gained support among farmers, a traditionally moderate constituency, and more broadly in rural areas where farming and food issues carry political weight way beyond farmers themselves. Even as the far right struggles to build support in urban areas, the French countryside is shaping up to be a battleground ahead of the 2027 presidential election.<\/p>\n As she crisscrossed Paris\u2019 annual\u00a0Salon International de L\u2019Agriculture\u00a0in February, lending a sympathetic ear to farmer\u2019s economic struggles and vowing to support them, visitors greeted Le Pen with cheers, asking for selfies and shouting\u00a0\u201cMarine Pr\u00e9sidente!\u201d\u00a0as she walked between cow pens to\u00a0pet the salon\u2019s other star<\/a>, Oupette, a one-ton brown Limousine heifer.<\/p>\n Days before, Bardella also made sure to pay a visit to the\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0stand in the corner of one of the seven giant halls, a must for politicians this year.<\/p>\n Anti-establishment push<\/p>\n The movement was born in the early 1990s to protest a landmark reform of the EU\u2019s flagship Common Agricultural Policy that introduced direct subsidies for farmers in lieu of guaranteed prices, tying them to environmental protection measures.<\/p>\n Long in the shadow of the dominant FNSEA,\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0seized the initiative during last year\u2019s\u00a0large-scale farmers\u2019 protests<\/a>, with tractor convoys rolling into cities to protest against environmental rules, as well as a hike in fuel prices and cheap agricultural imports coming from other European countries, including Ukraine.<\/p>\n The union\u00a0came out on top<\/a>\u00a0in 14 of the country\u2019s 101 agricultural chambers in February\u2019s farming elections, up from just three in the last election in 2019, giving it a much more prominent voice in discussions with the government over farming policy, where FNSEA used to be the dominant player. Agriculture chambers also have wide-ranging prerogatives at the local level, ranging from administrative support to farmers to supporting the implementation of farming and environmental policies.<\/p>\n While aligned with the FNSEA on some issues, including opposing free trade agreements, the\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0has taken a more radical stance on others, clashing with environmentalists on water use or reducing the use of pesticides, and slamming what they say is overregulation from the EU and the central government. The union\u2019s leaders have repeatedly framed the FNSEA as part of the establishment, working hand in hand with politicians in Paris and Brussels.<\/p>\n Yellow hat candidates have made huge gains in farmlands facing intense economic hardship, including the Bordeaux region, where winemakers who produce for export face another hit from Donald Trump\u2019s trade war. The American president\u00a0threatened to hike duties<\/a>\u00a0on EU exports of wines and spirits to 200 percent if Brussels retaliated against his own duties by hitting U.S. whiskey. Brussels backed down.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s trade aggression and competition from countries such as Ukraine were major talking points at the agri fair, with the union\u2019s leaders calling for more protectionist measures.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a dream to hear a head of state saying he wants to protect producers and his citizens,\u201d said Lenaerts, speaking of Trump\u2019s protectionist push ahead of his wine tariffs announcement. \u201cThe character in itself doesn\u2019t make me dream \u2026 but I like his attitude towards his country.\u201d<\/p>\n Surge in the polls<\/strong><\/p>\n Support for both the yellow hats union and Marine Le Pen\u2019s party has surged in many parts of rural France, including in Gers, the administrative district to which Auch belongs. The National Rally got 35 percent of the vote in last June\u2019s snap parliamentary election, called by Macron after his liberals were wiped out in the European vote. That was up 15 percentage points from two years ago in a region that used to be a stronghold of the Social Democrats.<\/p>\n Beyond the scenic view over limestone farmhouses and villages, there is one extra perk to driving around the countryside here: you won\u2019t get a speeding ticket.<\/p>\n Local yellow hat protesters covered all of the area\u2019s speed cameras with tractor tires and fertilizer bags, a signature move that Candelon boasted about on stage at the union\u2019s gathering, saying he and his supporters had disabled 179 of them.<\/p>\n Candelon, a former soldier turned duck farmer and father of three, rose to local fame in 2017 when he mounted protests against what he said was unfair competition from Central European countries,\u00a0protesting against Bulgarian duck meat imports<\/a>\u00a0on local supermarket shelves in front of TV cameras.<\/p>\n He quickly rose through the ranks after joining the local\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0section, and was elected as president of the local agriculture chamber under the union\u2019s banner in February\u2019s farming election.<\/p>\n The 38-year-old has also had his share of legal troubles. In 2023, he was\u00a0fined over online death threats<\/a>\u00a0made against local veterinary officials \u2014 which Candelon called a one-time slip-up linked to intense pressure after repeated cullings linked to bird flu outbreaks at his farm. He was also\u00a0questioned by police<\/a>\u00a0last year after he and several union members sealed the entrance of the local French Biodiversity Office\u2019s building.<\/p>\n The environment agency, in charge of upholding rules on pesticides use and water protection, has been among the union\u2019s recurring targets. The agency\u00a0denounced the attacks on its agents<\/a>\u00a0as \u201cunacceptable\u201d after a member of the\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0reportedly threatened to torch its vehicles if they set foot on a farm.<\/p>\n Sylvie Colas, a spokesperson for the left-leaning union\u00a0Confederation paysanne\u00a0and local opponent of Candelon who filed a complaint against him over alleged verbal threats \u2014 which he denies \u2014 says the union leaders\u2019 \u201cintimidation\u201d tactics have had a chilling effect on locals and public agents alike.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t imagine an agent [from the French Biodiversity Office] making an inspection visit to a farmer in Gers these days,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s Trumpism. There is a constant escalation, to the point where you get the impression that the administration just lies down, says nothing and lets it happen,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Candelon says he rejects physical violence, but that punchy actions are necessary to make farmers\u2019 voices heard, standing by the targeting of speeding cameras and other stunts aiming at\u00a0\u201cemmerder l\u2019\u00c9tat\u201d\u00a0(pissing off the government).<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that when we piss off the government, things start moving. So we are going to keep it up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Leave us the hell alone\u2019<\/p>\n Local farmers praise Candelon\u2019s leadership and visibility, saying it contrasts with the FNSEA\u2019s inability to improve their working conditions over the years.<\/p>\n David Palacin, a 47-year-old cattle farmer from the village of D\u00e9mu, near Auch, says he was never unionized before seeing Candelon in action. A blockade on a local road during last year\u2019s protests was the rallying moment for him and several of his neighbors.<\/p>\n \u201cWe stayed for 15 days, day and night,\u201d he recalls, with neighbors and family members taking over during the day when farmers had to get some work done in the fields.<\/p>\n Palacin says he was unaware of connections with the far right at the top of the movement, which he doesn\u2019t endorse, but that exasperation over the status quo led many to turn to the communication-savvy activists of\u00a0Coordination rurale.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not being heard,\u201d said Palacin in his office, a stone\u2019s throw away from his farm\u2019s large open air stalls that house some 200 brown Limousine cows.<\/p>\n Unlike some of his struggling neighbours, Palacin has built a diversified business employing 15 people, breeding cattle, selling their meat in his two local butcher shops and shipping young males to Spain and Italy.<\/p>\n He is acutely aware of upcoming challenges for local farmers, who face competition from neighbouring countries as well as the EU\u2019s trade partners.<\/p>\n \u201cSoy from Brazil is getting in, [while] we\u2019ll soon be banned from even using glyphosate,\u201d Palacin said. \u201cAt some point you have to be coherent,\u201d pointing at the deal reached between the EU and the Latin American Mercosur trade bloc which French farmers say will open the floodgates to cheaper products that don\u2019t meet the environmental standards that they have to meet.<\/p>\n Palacin says French farmers should also be encouraged to compete for mass agricultural markets.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone going organic is not going to feed the planet,\u201d he adds, pointing at local opposition to a large-scale poultry farm project in the village of Lannepax. \u201cIf we don\u2019t produce it, other countries will, and it will get in.\u201d<\/p>\n A short drive down the hill, Gr\u00e9gory Julien, a fellow\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0member and cereal producer, says top-down environmental rules play a big part in the local farmers\u2019 revolt. \u201cRules are being imposed on us that make no sense on the ground,\u201d he says, citing periodic bans on hedge trimming meant to protect bird nesting.<\/p>\n Opposition to environmentalists and what they say is a government overreach is a regular theme in the union\u2019s slogans, with many of its members standing opposite to green activists in local\u00a0conflicts around water management<\/a>.<\/p>\n Standing on the stage, Serge Bousquet-Cassagne looked down solemnly at his prot\u00e9g\u00e9, pointing his arm at him for all the farmers and their families to see.<\/p>\n \u201cI make you general of the army of the serfs,\u201d the 65-year-old leader said in a makeshift ceremony organized to honor regional leader Lionel Candelon, who stood before him in a large concrete hall on the outskirts of Auch, southwestern France.<\/p>\n Hundreds had gathered to celebrate a landmark victory for their movement: the\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0union, known for its signature yellow hats, had made unprecedented gains in February\u2019s farming union elections, breaking the hegemony of the establishment FNSEA in representing farmers in France and Brussels.<\/p>\n Bousquet-Cassagne\u2019s grand gesture \u2014 elevating Candelon to general \u2014 was both a nod to his military background and suited the farming union\u2019s muscular style.<\/p>\n The movement has been at the forefront of recent farmers\u2019 protests in France, outflanking the FNSEA with hard-hitting action, ranging from\u00a0confrontations with President Emmanuel Macron<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0setting manure on fire<\/a>\u00a0in front of government buildings, drawing criticism for what rivals say are intimidation tactics.<\/p>\n That evening however, the crowd was in a cheery mood, celebrating past\u00a0coups d\u2019\u00e9clat\u00a0and triumphs yet to come at long banquet tables decked out with yellow paper napkins and soon laid with roasted duck breast\u00a0<\/strong>and red wine.<\/p>\n Deep south<\/p>\n The movement was born 40 kilometers from Auch, in the heart of Gascony, a land of soft hills and green pastures just to the north of the Spanish border that is famed for its\u00a0foie gras, Armagnac brandy \u2014 and strong headed people.<\/p>\n Bousquet-Cassagne has made a trademark of his bullish manners and disregard for the law, boasting 17 court appearances over the years for actions ranging from vandalizing supermarkets to illegally constructing water basins used for irrigation.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this country if you don\u2019t burn cars you don\u2019t get acknowledged,\u201d he said at the rally. \u201cAnd you get fucked.\u201d<\/p>\n Bousquet-Cassagne is also one of the union\u2019s figures most closely associated with the French political far right, having called National Rally President Jordan Bardella \u201ctheir last hope<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n His outspoken support for the party, along with that of other\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0figures, has fueled speculation about the union\u2019s symbiotic relationship with Marine Le Pen\u2019s party as large chunks of the French countryside have swung to the far right over the last couple of years.<\/p>\n France\u2019s rural heartlands have been a big reservoir for growth for the National Rally over the past couple of years. After winning over disaffected industrial areas, the party has sought to capitalize on rural discontent and hardship, blaming mainstream parties for failed farming policies and accusing Brussels of exposing EU markets to cheaper and inferior foreign produce.<\/p>\n Support for nationalist parties is especially high among the ranks of the yellow hats: Sixty-two percent of them expressed support for the National Rally or the more extreme Reconqu\u00eate\u00a0in a poll<\/a>\u00a0conducted ahead of last June\u2019s European election by research institutes Cevipof and INP Ensat. That compared with 31 percent of supporters of the FNSEA \u2014 the National Federation of Agricultural Holders\u2019 Unions \u2014 slightly below the far right\u2019s actual vote share of the voting public.<\/p>\n While not everyone in the movement approves of Bousquet-Cassagne\u2019s style and outspoken support for the far right, most see him as a strong leader and a role model.<\/p>\n As he sipped his drink and greeted union members in Auch, Bousquet-Cassagne constantly interrupted himself to greet supporters, calling them \u201cthugs!\u201d and \u201cterrorists!\u201d in jest. Many approached for advice, especially on building water basins for irrigation, as\u00a0access to water<\/a>\u00a0has become a huge point of contention with environmentalists and local authorities as the weather grows drier and hotter in the region due to climate change.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019ll have built one the rest will follow,\u201d he told one of them, \u201ceven if jail time is what it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n Other yellow hat leaders have been at pains to soften its image in recent months and push back against the idea that the union has ties to the far right.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are using us, and we are maybe using them too, that\u2019s part of the game\u201d said\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0Vice-President Sophie Lenaerts. \u201cIf we can push our values and our positions\u2026 We will do that with everyone. Some are just taking in more than others.\u201d<\/p>\n Le Pen has gained support among farmers, a traditionally moderate constituency, and more broadly in rural areas where farming and food issues carry political weight way beyond farmers themselves. Even as the far right struggles to build support in urban areas, the French countryside is shaping up to be a battleground ahead of the 2027 presidential election.<\/p>\n As she crisscrossed Paris\u2019 annual\u00a0Salon International de L\u2019Agriculture\u00a0in February, lending a sympathetic ear to farmer\u2019s economic struggles and vowing to support them, visitors greeted Le Pen with cheers, asking for selfies and shouting\u00a0\u201cMarine Pr\u00e9sidente!\u201d\u00a0as she walked between cow pens to\u00a0pet the salon\u2019s other star<\/a>, Oupette, a one-ton brown Limousine heifer.<\/p>\n Days before, Bardella also made sure to pay a visit to the\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0stand in the corner of one of the seven giant halls, a must for politicians this year.<\/p>\n Anti-establishment push<\/p>\n The movement was born in the early 1990s to protest a landmark reform of the EU\u2019s flagship Common Agricultural Policy that introduced direct subsidies for farmers in lieu of guaranteed prices, tying them to environmental protection measures.<\/p>\n Long in the shadow of the dominant FNSEA,\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0seized the initiative during last year\u2019s\u00a0large-scale farmers\u2019 protests<\/a>, with tractor convoys rolling into cities to protest against environmental rules, as well as a hike in fuel prices and cheap agricultural imports coming from other European countries, including Ukraine.<\/p>\n The union\u00a0came out on top<\/a>\u00a0in 14 of the country\u2019s 101 agricultural chambers in February\u2019s farming elections, up from just three in the last election in 2019, giving it a much more prominent voice in discussions with the government over farming policy, where FNSEA used to be the dominant player. Agriculture chambers also have wide-ranging prerogatives at the local level, ranging from administrative support to farmers to supporting the implementation of farming and environmental policies.<\/p>\n While aligned with the FNSEA on some issues, including opposing free trade agreements, the\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0has taken a more radical stance on others, clashing with environmentalists on water use or reducing the use of pesticides, and slamming what they say is overregulation from the EU and the central government. The union\u2019s leaders have repeatedly framed the FNSEA as part of the establishment, working hand in hand with politicians in Paris and Brussels.<\/p>\n Yellow hat candidates have made huge gains in farmlands facing intense economic hardship, including the Bordeaux region, where winemakers who produce for export face another hit from Donald Trump\u2019s trade war. The American president\u00a0threatened to hike duties<\/a>\u00a0on EU exports of wines and spirits to 200 percent if Brussels retaliated against his own duties by hitting U.S. whiskey. Brussels backed down.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s trade aggression and competition from countries such as Ukraine were major talking points at the agri fair, with the union\u2019s leaders calling for more protectionist measures.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a dream to hear a head of state saying he wants to protect producers and his citizens,\u201d said Lenaerts, speaking of Trump\u2019s protectionist push ahead of his wine tariffs announcement. \u201cThe character in itself doesn\u2019t make me dream \u2026 but I like his attitude towards his country.\u201d<\/p>\n Surge in the polls<\/strong><\/p>\n Support for both the yellow hats union and Marine Le Pen\u2019s party has surged in many parts of rural France, including in Gers, the administrative district to which Auch belongs. The National Rally got 35 percent of the vote in last June\u2019s snap parliamentary election, called by Macron after his liberals were wiped out in the European vote. That was up 15 percentage points from two years ago in a region that used to be a stronghold of the Social Democrats.<\/p>\n Beyond the scenic view over limestone farmhouses and villages, there is one extra perk to driving around the countryside here: you won\u2019t get a speeding ticket.<\/p>\n Local yellow hat protesters covered all of the area\u2019s speed cameras with tractor tires and fertilizer bags, a signature move that Candelon boasted about on stage at the union\u2019s gathering, saying he and his supporters had disabled 179 of them.<\/p>\n Candelon, a former soldier turned duck farmer and father of three, rose to local fame in 2017 when he mounted protests against what he said was unfair competition from Central European countries,\u00a0protesting against Bulgarian duck meat imports<\/a>\u00a0on local supermarket shelves in front of TV cameras.<\/p>\n He quickly rose through the ranks after joining the local\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0section, and was elected as president of the local agriculture chamber under the union\u2019s banner in February\u2019s farming election.<\/p>\n The 38-year-old has also had his share of legal troubles. In 2023, he was\u00a0fined over online death threats<\/a>\u00a0made against local veterinary officials \u2014 which Candelon called a one-time slip-up linked to intense pressure after repeated cullings linked to bird flu outbreaks at his farm. He was also\u00a0questioned by police<\/a>\u00a0last year after he and several union members sealed the entrance of the local French Biodiversity Office\u2019s building.<\/p>\n The environment agency, in charge of upholding rules on pesticides use and water protection, has been among the union\u2019s recurring targets. The agency\u00a0denounced the attacks on its agents<\/a>\u00a0as \u201cunacceptable\u201d after a member of the\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0reportedly threatened to torch its vehicles if they set foot on a farm.<\/p>\n Sylvie Colas, a spokesperson for the left-leaning union\u00a0Confederation paysanne\u00a0and local opponent of Candelon who filed a complaint against him over alleged verbal threats \u2014 which he denies \u2014 says the union leaders\u2019 \u201cintimidation\u201d tactics have had a chilling effect on locals and public agents alike.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t imagine an agent [from the French Biodiversity Office] making an inspection visit to a farmer in Gers these days,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s Trumpism. There is a constant escalation, to the point where you get the impression that the administration just lies down, says nothing and lets it happen,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Candelon says he rejects physical violence, but that punchy actions are necessary to make farmers\u2019 voices heard, standing by the targeting of speeding cameras and other stunts aiming at\u00a0\u201cemmerder l\u2019\u00c9tat\u201d\u00a0(pissing off the government).<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that when we piss off the government, things start moving. So we are going to keep it up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Leave us the hell alone\u2019<\/p>\n Local farmers praise Candelon\u2019s leadership and visibility, saying it contrasts with the FNSEA\u2019s inability to improve their working conditions over the years.<\/p>\n David Palacin, a 47-year-old cattle farmer from the village of D\u00e9mu, near Auch, says he was never unionized before seeing Candelon in action. A blockade on a local road during last year\u2019s protests was the rallying moment for him and several of his neighbors.<\/p>\n \u201cWe stayed for 15 days, day and night,\u201d he recalls, with neighbors and family members taking over during the day when farmers had to get some work done in the fields.<\/p>\n Palacin says he was unaware of connections with the far right at the top of the movement, which he doesn\u2019t endorse, but that exasperation over the status quo led many to turn to the communication-savvy activists of\u00a0Coordination rurale.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not being heard,\u201d said Palacin in his office, a stone\u2019s throw away from his farm\u2019s large open air stalls that house some 200 brown Limousine cows.<\/p>\n Unlike some of his struggling neighbours, Palacin has built a diversified business employing 15 people, breeding cattle, selling their meat in his two local butcher shops and shipping young males to Spain and Italy.<\/p>\n He is acutely aware of upcoming challenges for local farmers, who face competition from neighbouring countries as well as the EU\u2019s trade partners.<\/p>\n \u201cSoy from Brazil is getting in, [while] we\u2019ll soon be banned from even using glyphosate,\u201d Palacin said. \u201cAt some point you have to be coherent,\u201d pointing at the deal reached between the EU and the Latin American Mercosur trade bloc which French farmers say will open the floodgates to cheaper products that don\u2019t meet the environmental standards that they have to meet.<\/p>\n Palacin says French farmers should also be encouraged to compete for mass agricultural markets.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone going organic is not going to feed the planet,\u201d he adds, pointing at local opposition to a large-scale poultry farm project in the village of Lannepax. \u201cIf we don\u2019t produce it, other countries will, and it will get in.\u201d<\/p>\n A short drive down the hill, Gr\u00e9gory Julien, a fellow\u00a0Coordination rurale\u00a0member and cereal producer, says top-down environmental rules play a big part in the local farmers\u2019 revolt. \u201cRules are being imposed on us that make no sense on the ground,\u201d he says, citing periodic bans on hedge trimming meant to protect bird nesting.<\/p>\n Opposition to environmentalists and what they say is a government overreach is a regular theme in the union\u2019s slogans, with many of its members standing opposite to green activists in local\u00a0conflicts around water management<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the Auch gathering, Bousquet-Cassagne repeated one of his favorite mantras as he greeted supporters and harangued the crowd : \u201cWe are the best peasants in the world. Leave us the hell alone.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
in AUCH, France<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Serge-Bousquet-Cassagne2-1024x683.jpg\")
Serge Bousquet-Cassagne is one of the union\u2019s figures most closely associated with the French political far right. | Christophe Archambault\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1947487083-1024x683.jpg\")
The French countryside is shaping up to be a battleground ahead of the 2027 presidential election. | Christophe Archambault\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2184819501-1024x682.jpg\")
The movement was born in the early 1990s to protest a landmark reform of the EU\u2019s flagship Common Agricultural Policy. | Arnaud Finistre\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Lionel-Candelon-1024x683.jpg\")
Local farmers praise Lionel Candelon\u2019s leadership and visibility. | Valentine Chapuis\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-486307254-1024x682.jpg\")
Yellow hat candidates have made huge gains in farmlands facing intense economic hardship. | Miguel Medina\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1948262558-1024x683.jpg\")
The union came out on top in 14 of the country\u2019s 101 agricultural chambers in February\u2019s farming elections. | Christophe Archambault\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-1946265888-1024x683.jpg\")
Candelon says he rejects physical violence, but that punchy actions are necessary to make farmers\u2019 voices heard. | Olivier Chassignlole\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n