Manure-spraying farmers clash with squatters in France

One occupant of a caravan in Hautes-Vosges, France, directly copped a mix of manure and water. Photo / LOAGRI

Furious farmers have sprayed squatters with manure in a bid to drive them off their land in eastern France.

A convoy of tractors spread a mixture of manure and water across fields where caravans were parked in Hautes-Vosges after reportedly receiving no help from police to remove what they described as an “illegal gypsy camp”.

Footage posted to YouTube shows the farmers’ tractors circling rows of white caravans, leaving a trail of slurry in their wake. Some people from the caravans can be seen chasing the tractors, trying to halt the stinking onslaught.

One man jumps on to a moving vehicle and bangs on the driver’s window.

At least six tractors were involved in the action, which was filmed by an anonymous farmer and uploaded on a popular farming website.

Local media reported that about 400 travelling caravans had set up camp in the area without permission at the beginning of July.

The caption on the video said the farmers had sprayed manure on the fields around the encampment to prevent it expanding further.

Pascal Claude, the mayor, said the travellers returned every year despite repeated requests to leave.

“The problem is that we find ourselves alone, powerless. They come back every year. We asked them to leave, but they won’t. There have been clashes with the farmers. We understand why they are not happy,” Claude said.

The travellers reportedly arrived from eastern France as part of an evangelical mission, according to the La Dépêche newspaper.

They are said to have formed a human barrier around their caravans to prevent the tractors advancing, with some climbing on the vehicles themselves.

At least six tractors spread a mix of manure and water across fields where caravans were parked in Hautes-Vosges, France. Photo / LOAGRI

One farmer claimed to have received death threats. “They can settle there without any problem, while we are bound by regulations,” he complained.

A similar incident occurred last month in southwestern France, when 250 caravans occupied farmland in Saint-Jean-de-Marsacq without authorisation.

Around 500 caravans were reportedly based in the surrounding area, prompting several mayors from nearby towns to issue a joint statement backing the landowners.

They pledged to “unite, to show solidarity and common desire to act against a resurgence of illegal installations in the region”.

In Tavistock, Devon, last year, a British farmer doused a camper in slurry after catching him in his field.

“I left him there covered in slurry. He never said a word. He couldn’t really argue with that,” Jack Bellamy told The Sun at the time. “They come up from the towns and think they can do what they want.”