SHOTLIST:

STRASBOURG, FRANCE (DEC. 17, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL)

1. PROTESTORS HANGING BANNER WRITTEN WITH SPRAY

2. DEMONSTRATORS GATHERING AROUND BURNING FIRE

3. ONE PROTESTORS SPEAKING TO AUDIENCE STRASBOURG, FRANCE - DECEMBER 17: Farmers rallied outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, answering a call from the Coordination Rurale union to protest cattle culls linked to lumpy skin disease and to denounce the EU-Mercosur trade deal.

Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and a Member of the European Parliament, arrived to address demonstrators as they gathered with tractors and banners near the parliament complex on Wednesday.

The protests come amid anger over France’s strategy of ordering large-scale herd culls after outbreaks of the insect-borne disease, which has spread across multiple departments since late June.

The government says vaccination and movement restrictions are being ramped up and has pledged compensation for affected farmers, while Coordination Rurale and other unions argue the approach is excessive and are pressing for broader vaccination instead of systematic culling.

Recent actions elsewhere in France have included highway blockades and dumping manure outside public buildings

Wednesday’s Strasbourg mobilization took place during the European Parliament’s plenary week, as EU lawmakers debate and vote on measures affecting agriculture, including proposals tied to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) compliance and trade-related safeguards connected to Mercosur.

Farmers’ groups say these policies, combined with health measures at home, are squeezing farm incomes and threatening long-term viability—warning that further demonstrations could follow if authorities do not change course.