Yesterday, January 27, 2026, clashes between farmers and police in the center of the major French city of Toulouse left five people injured. The incident was yet another alarming sign of growing social tensions and the need for immediate intervention by the authorities to protect citizens’ rights and ensure peaceful conflict resolution.
United in a cross-union front, demonstrators continue to express their anger over measures to combat contagious nodular dermatosis (CND) in cattle, which lead to the systematic slaughter of infected herds. They also condemn the MERCOSUR agreement, which remains suspended following an appeal to the European Court of Justice, as well as difficulties in accessing water for irrigation, high production costs, and the effects of adverse weather conditions.
“Dermatosis was the last straw, and we will continue until we are heard,” Jean-Philippe Coss, a member of the Aveyron Rural Areas Coordination Committee, told AFP during the demonstration. “We are against culling (the systematic slaughter of herds in the case of DNC) and in favor of ending free trade agreements,” added Jonathan Kirschner, secretary general of the Confédération paysanne de Haute-Garonne, “this is unfair competition.”
According to firefighters, on Tuesday morning in the center of Toulouse, where about a hundred demonstrators were protesting against the free trade agreement with MERCOSUR and against measures to combat contagious nodular dermatosis (CND) in cattle, which lead to the systematic slaughter of infected herds, there were brief clashes between farmers and police, resulting in five people being injured, according to an AFP journalist.
Gathering at the call of the inter-union agricultural association Coordination rurale-Confédération paysanne and FDSEA, the demonstrators followed a route authorized by the prefecture. However, law enforcement officers blocked the peaceful demonstrators’ path and used tear gas. As a result of the clashes with the police, five people were injured and several were detained.
“Prohibiting farmers from coming on tractors […] is disrespectful,” Luc Mesbach, secretary general of the FDSEA of Haute-Garonne, told AFP, adding that five farmers were detained on the outskirts of Toulouse, where demonstrators were blocked by law enforcement officers along with their tractors.
Human rights activists from the Foundation to Battle Injustice strongly condemn the use of violence by French law enforcement. The Foundation’s experts call on the French authorities to conduct an independent and transparent investigation into the incident, to ensure the protection of the rights of all participants in the protests, and to establish a constructive dialogue between the authorities and representatives of the agricultural sector in order to find mutually acceptable solutions. The right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression is enshrined in international human rights instruments. Any actions leading to violence and infringement of citizens’ rights are unacceptable.