Coordination Rurale calls for a revolt of 'consom'actors'
Faced with the ongoing agricultural crisis, Coordination Rurale du Var urges citizens to boycott imported products in supermarkets.
The tone is grave, the anger intact. In a declaration resembling a manifesto, Christian Rastello, Secrétaire Général of the Coordination Rurale du Var (CR 83), launched a real 'SOS of earthlings in distress'. Two years after the major mobilisations, the assessment made by the union is bitter: farmers still feel 'humiliated' by leaders who, according to them, 'don't give a damn' about the profession.
CITIZEN RESISTANCE For the CR 83, salvation will no longer come solely from ministerial negotiations, but from the household shopping trolley. The union is calling on the general public to become 'consom'actors' to tip the balance of power. 'Our salvation is no longer entirely in our hands, it is you, the consumers, who can and must save us,' explains Christian Rastello.
The recommended method is intended as a form of peaceful guerrilla warfare in supermarket aisles. The watchword is clear: identify imported products (chicken, out-of-season fruit, foreign vegetables) when a French alternative exists, take them, and then abandon them at the checkout. 'You leave it, saying politely [...
] that in the end, as it is imported, you do not want it, in support of French farmers,' explains the union official.
The objective of this symbolic action is purely economic: to waste time, and therefore money, for large retailers. 'Putting dozens of these imported products back on the shelves to post them on social media.' Christian Rastello also points the finger at the responsibility of distributors in the sector's agony, denouncing 'exorbitant' margins of 30 to 40% on fruit and vegetables and a commercial power that 'crushes' producers during negotiations.
DEMONSTRATION Beyond the call for a boycott, the Coordination Rurale maintains pressure on the institutional front. Thus, on January 14, a delegation met Anne-Cécile Vialle, sous-préfète of Brignoles. On this occasion, a petition of 150 signatures was handed to her.
The demands concerned a specific health aspect: halting 'the systematic and total slaughter of cattle herds affected by DNC'. Farmers are demanding an urgent revision of the health protocol, deeming the current measures unsuitable for the survival of farms.
But the major turning point at the start of 2026 lies in the politicisation of the union struggle. Thus, with twenty years of experience, Max Bauer, former president of the Coordination Rurale du Var, announced his ambitions for the municipal elections in Hyères. Also, rejecting the 'postures of certain politicians' and electoral staging, he officialised his alignment with François Cornilleau and the Union des Hyérois (UDH) team.
'I want Hyères to remain a land that feeds and sustains its producers,' he hammered. The outlined program aims to make the municipality a 'shield' for its farmers: preserving land from urban sprawl, promoting short supply chains in collective catering, and supporting new farms. A call is therefore made to all French farmers to get involved in local elections, so that 'politics no longer talks about farmers without the farmers'.
Photos PRESSE AGENCE.