Overview
- Some roadblocks eased for holiday travel, yet key arteries in the South-West remain disrupted, with the A64 still heavily closed and selective reopenings on the A63, A89 and A20.
- FNSEA and Young Farmers backed a conditional Christmas pause, while Coordination Rurale and Confédération paysanne declined to lift blockades without ending whole-herd culling, urging only “benevolence” over the holidays.
- Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu met all major farm unions after a low-profile visit to Ariège and kept the culling protocol in place, with a scientific dialogue group to continue and a follow-up set for early January.
- Vaccination is accelerating toward a target of 750,000 cattle and 75% coverage, supported by an additional 400,000 doses shipped from the Netherlands to speed protection by early February.
- The EU-Mercosur signing was postponed to January, with Ursula von der Leyen expressing confidence about a deal as Macron signaled conditions remain, and the government warned it would not tolerate new blockages during the holidays.