Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Farmers Lift Key Southwest Blockades as Vaccination Tops 50 Percent, With A64 and A75 Still Disrupted

Unions plan to restart protests in early January after dismantling emblematic camps.

Overview

  • Coordination Rurale cleared the A63 at Cestas and lifted A64 barricades at Pau and Urt after meetings with prefects, with phased reopenings and cleanup under way.
  • Significant holdouts persist in Occitanie, including the A64 at Carbonne, a near-100 km shutdown on the A75 north of Millau, the RN88 near Albi, and several routes in the Landes and Gers.
  • The Agriculture Ministry reports 50.7 percent of the roughly 750,000 targeted cattle vaccinated in the South‑West, while EU rules require far higher local coverage to relax restrictions.
  • The government is keeping its three‑pillar DNC strategy of full‑herd culling on detection, vaccination and movement limits, which remains the protesters’ chief grievance.
  • Tensions spiked in Auch where police drew their weapons to stop a tractor at a newspaper office and detained the driver, as authorities highlighted continuing dialogue and road recovery efforts.