Angry French farmers are calling for renewed and expanded protests against the government-backed slaughter of cattle herds affected by lumpy skin disease (LSD), a policy that has ignited unrest across rural France.
Tensions flared sharply on Thursday in the southern Ariège department, where clashes broke out between riot police and demonstrators after veterinarians arrived at a farm to destroy cattle deemed potentially contaminated.
Video footage and eyewitness accounts showed scuffles as farmers attempted to block access to the property, accusing authorities of destroying livelihoods without sufficient justification or compensation.
Elsewhere in southern France, farmers dumped manure outside government buildings, blocked key roads, and staged noisy demonstrations aimed at drawing public attention to what they describe as an excessive and “brutal” policy.
In the Charente-Maritime department, offices belonging to several environmentalist groups were ransacked, reflecting how the anger has spilled beyond government targets to organizations perceived as supporting stricter agricultural rules.
Lumpy skin disease is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cattle, transmitted mainly through fly bites. Typical symptoms include fever, mucosal discharge and painful nodules forming on the skin.
Although the disease is usually non-fatal, it can severely reduce milk production, damage hides and render animals unsaleable, causing heavy economic losses for farmers.
The virus arrived in Europe from Africa around a decade ago. France recorded its first outbreak in the Alps in June, when an infected herd forced organizers of the Tour de France to shorten one of its stages.
Since then, the disease has spread steadily. Authorities report around 110 outbreaks nationwide, initially concentrated in eastern regions but now increasingly detected in the south-west.
The French government has ordered the slaughter of entire herds when even a single animal tests positive, arguing that this is the only reliable way to prevent further spread of the virus.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, approximately 3,000 cattle have been destroyed since June. Officials blame the continued spread partly on the illegal movement of livestock from restricted zones.
Two of France’s three main farming unions, Confédération Rurale and Confédération Paysanne, have fiercely opposed the policy. They argue that selective culling combined with vaccination would be sufficient and far less devastating.
Union representatives say farmers are being treated as criminals rather than partners in disease control, warning that trust between rural communities and the state is rapidly eroding.
Veterinary authorities, however, strongly defend the measures. Stéphanie Philizot, head of the SNGTV veterinary union, says current diagnostic limits leave no alternative.
“Right now we are unable to tell the difference between a healthy animal and a symptomless animal carrying the virus,” Philizot said. “That is the only reason we have to carry out these whole-herd slaughters.”
The government fears the protests could snowball into a broader movement among farmers who already feel under siege from EU regulations, rising costs and foreign competition.
A major demonstration is planned in Brussels next week during a summit of EU leaders, raising concerns that the issue could spill onto the European stage.
Several French farming sectors are already in crisis. Wine growers are struggling with falling consumption, while poultry farmers continue to battle repeated avian flu outbreaks.
There is also strong opposition to a looming EU free-trade agreement with South American countries, which farmers fear will open the market to cheaper imports produced under looser environmental and sanitary rules.
For many farmers, the LSD crisis has become a symbol of deeper frustrations, blending fears about disease control with broader anxieties over the future of French agriculture.