Farmers blocking the A64 national highway near Carbonne in southern France, December 13, 2025. MORGAN FACHE/DIVERGENCE FOR LE MONDE
It is a high-risk week for France's government. In addition to a budget debate at risk of stalling, anger is mounting in the farming sector. Protests by cattle breeders show no sign of easing against the government's plan to contain the spread of the virus causing nodular dermatitis, also known as lumpy skin disease, which first appeared in the Alps in late June. Protocol requires the systematic slaughter of herds as soon as first cases are detected, which has sparked anger and distress in the southwest, where several outbreaks have been reported. The disease affects cattle but is not transmissible to humans.
By coincidence, European Union member states are due to vote on the planned free trade agreement with South American trade bloc Mercosur this week, before December 20. Farmers have fiercely opposed the deal, denouncing it as unfair, while the government has said it is "unacceptable as it stands."
The abrasive climate has led to forceful action by unions, whose members have mobilized to oppose the culls and to block roadways, including national highways. "It's been a powder keg for months," said Arnaud Rousseau, president of the main farmers' union FNSEA, on Saturday. "No one was asking if it would happen. The question was: when and where?" The government, still marked by the memory of the 2024 farmers' crisis, admitted that this new anger reflects "a deeper malaise," Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard said Sunday.
