A new page is being turned in the national directorate of Rural Coordination (CR). Bertrand Venteau, a 46-year-old cattle farmer, representative of the hard wing of the agricultural union, was elected on Wednesday 19 November as chairman of the agricultural union, ahead of outgoing president Véronique Le Floc’h. Victory in handkerchief – 74 votes to 68 votes –, according to the results announced on Wednesday 32e trade union congress, in Auch.
Thirty-four years after it was founded at Gers, in 1991, the union, famous for its yellow hats and shock stunts, entered a new era. “I want to end the internal war, give the departments a voice again, and do everything possible to ensure that more countries are involved in the next six years”, said the new president. Emerging at the forefront of the national scene during the agricultural demonstrations in the winter of 2024, and after scoring well in January during the agricultural chamber elections, where it won 29.85% of the vote, compared to 46.7% for the alliance between the Federation of National Farmers’ Unions (FNSEA) and Young Farmers, the CR can claim to have become the second agricultural union in France, after the FNSEA. “We will not be vertical, I will delegate a lot, and most importantly, we will leave departments free to act”, explained Mr. Venteau. A way to break with the old management, which was criticized for its Parisian centralism and assessed negotiation techniques “too soft”.
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