Work

Unions out of their league? Ethnographic insights into the 2024 French farmer protests

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The 2024 French farmer protests, part of a wider European movement, highlight regional disparities and fragmented representation. This ethnographic study, conducted at road blockades in Brittany (Finistère), examines the movement’s internal tensions and struggles over political representation. The aim of this paper is to analyse the movement as a battleground for control of – and resistance to – political representation. Findings reveal that the protests were about farmers reclaiming political agency from the unions, rather than being led by them. The paper explores the movement’s evolution from a grassroots coalition to unions grappling with their roles, often challenged by protesters.

Source: The Journal of Peasant Studies

DOI: 10.1080/03066150.2025.2457081

Author: Amelia Veitch

Institutions: École des hautes études en sciences sociales, University of Lausanne

Language: English

Topic: Labor Movements and Unions

Subfield: Public Administration

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Zero hunger

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Fondation de France, Université de Lausanne