the police target a farmer

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In images taken from the cab of his tractor, a farmer is targeted by a police officer, with a gun pointed in his direction. Around him, two other CRS seem to be making the same gesture. Three guns pointed at him, before the police entered the tractor.

The farmer, aged around thirty, was arrested and then placed in police custody. It is 10:30 p.m. They had just dumped slurry in front of the premises of the newspaper La Dépêche du Midi in Hoche in the Gers. According to the prefect, this farmer refused to stop despite orders from police officers.

“The police forces asked the person to cut off the engine and get off the tractor. This person then began to maneuver towards the CRS and the police. So, there was perhaps a fear reflex which led to him pulling out a weapon. As soon as the driver cut off the engine and got out, the weapons returned to the holster and the matter ended there”explains Alain Castanier, prefect of Gers.

The version of the prefect of Gers is refuted by the Rural Coordination, at the origin of the mobilization. For them, this farmer simply wanted to reposition his tractor. They denounce a disproportionate response.

“There is an excess of zeal and he, the poor thing, is shocked and he will be scarred for life. He spent his night in police custody. No, in police custody, we don’t experience that. When we are just farmers, we ask for income and to stop beating our cows, that’s all”denounces Jérôme Courrèges, president of the rural coordination of Gers.

The agricultural union announces that it wants to contact the IGPN, the General Police Inspectorate. Despite this incident, there is no question of abandoning the mobilization.