The Peasants’ Confederation opposes the “illegal occupation” of Western Sahara by Rabat. Union farmers staged fistfights on Wednesday near a warehouse and then at a supermarket in Perpignan to denounce the EU-Morocco trade agreement.
About two dozen farmers filled shopping baskets with tomatoes from Morocco, but they said were produced in Western Sahara, before taking them outside the Carrefour store, where about fifty demonstrators had gathered.
EU-Morocco Agreement – Action continues across a wide area #Perpignan who illegally sell Azura tomatoes with the label “Moroccan” even though they come from Western Sahara! pic.twitter.com/m8k4URJlXd
— Conf’ Paysanne (@ConfPaysanne) November 26, 2025
Shortly before, they had tried to enter the warehouse of the French-Moroccan group Azura, to also highlight the presence of tomatoes from Western Sahara, but were rejected by employees.
CJEU decision
“These tomatoes then arrive on the French market at unbeatable prices. We defend the self-determination of the Sahrawi people and a dignified income for farmers in France,” explained Fanny Métrat, spokesperson for France’s third agricultural union, near the warehouse.
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For Jean Thévenot, another spokesman, “it is as if we are labeling tomatoes as belonging to Israel, even though they are produced in Palestinian territory.”
The Farmers’ Confederation accused the European Union of ignoring a decision of the European Court of Justice (CJEU) in October 2024 that requires Western Sahara to be listed as a “country of origin” by specifying the origin of melons or cherry tomatoes exported from this region by Morocco.
A vast expanse of 266,000 km2 of desert located north of Mauritania, Western Sahara is the last region on the African continent whose postcolonial status is unresolved: Morocco controls more than 80% of the west, the Polisario Front less than 20% of the east, all separated by a sand wall and a buffer zone under the control of UN peacekeeping forces.
