Two die in crash at farmers' roadblock in south west France
A mother and her daughter died after a car hit a farmers' roadblock in south-western France on Tuesday morning as French farmers continued their protests by blocking motorways.
The accident occurred at a roadblock (barrage) on the N20 Route National near the village of Pamiers in the Ariège département of south-western France at around 5.45am on Tuesday morning.
According to reports a car collided at speed with a wall of straw bales set up by farmers as a roadblock.
The mother died at the scene and her husband and 12-year-old daughter were taken to hospital. The girl was confirmed to have died of her injuries on Tuesday night, after a mistaken earlier announcement of her death by the local prosecutor. The husband remains in hospital in a serious condition.
LATEST: Where in France are farmers blocking roads?
One member of the local farmer's union told local radio France 3 that the car sped up and travelled along the hard shoulder of the main road in an attempt to avoid the road block.
"The car was going at a crazy speed on the hard shoulder to avoid the blocks of concrete," local union leader Sébastien Durand told RMC radio.
The victims were part of the farmer's union protest and were described as members of the FNSEA union. They were reported to have been stood behind a hay stack when the car hit.
"Three of our members have suffered a terrible accident," Arnaud Rousseau, the president of the agriculture union, FNSEA, announced on RMC on Tuesday morning.
Reports say three individuals who were in the car were arrested at the scene.
Farmer's unions called on their protesters to be cautious at roadblocks.
As of Tuesday morning, several farmer's protests were ongoing across France with several motorways blocked, including portions of the A64 in Haute-Garonne, the A62 at Agen, the A7 in Drôme and A63 in Bayonne.
Echoing farmers' protests around Europe, French agriculture workers are unhappy about heavy burdens of regulation and environmental standards which they say make it impossible to make a profit.
More demonstrations are expected throughout the day and week ahead.
FNSEA President Rousseau told France Inter that: "The problems faced by farmers seem to be shared, so let's get on with it!"
Despite having met with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Monday evening, Rousseau said afterwards that there would be "no end to actions from farmers without a concrete decision from the executive".
At his meeting with the farming representatives Monday night, Attal promised that a number of measures would be announced by the end of the week, according to Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau.
READ MORE: Why are French farmers threatening to turn France 'upside down'?
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The accident occurred at a roadblock (barrage) on the N20 Route National near the village of Pamiers in the Ariège département of south-western France at around 5.45am on Tuesday morning.
According to reports a car collided at speed with a wall of straw bales set up by farmers as a roadblock.
The mother died at the scene and her husband and 12-year-old daughter were taken to hospital. The girl was confirmed to have died of her injuries on Tuesday night, after a mistaken earlier announcement of her death by the local prosecutor. The husband remains in hospital in a serious condition.
LATEST: Where in France are farmers blocking roads?
One member of the local farmer's union told local radio France 3 that the car sped up and travelled along the hard shoulder of the main road in an attempt to avoid the road block.
"The car was going at a crazy speed on the hard shoulder to avoid the blocks of concrete," local union leader Sébastien Durand told RMC radio.
The victims were part of the farmer's union protest and were described as members of the FNSEA union. They were reported to have been stood behind a hay stack when the car hit.
"Three of our members have suffered a terrible accident," Arnaud Rousseau, the president of the agriculture union, FNSEA, announced on RMC on Tuesday morning.
Reports say three individuals who were in the car were arrested at the scene.
Farmer's unions called on their protesters to be cautious at roadblocks.
As of Tuesday morning, several farmer's protests were ongoing across France with several motorways blocked, including portions of the A64 in Haute-Garonne, the A62 at Agen, the A7 in Drôme and A63 in Bayonne.
Echoing farmers' protests around Europe, French agriculture workers are unhappy about heavy burdens of regulation and environmental standards which they say make it impossible to make a profit.
More demonstrations are expected throughout the day and week ahead.
FNSEA President Rousseau told France Inter that: "The problems faced by farmers seem to be shared, so let's get on with it!"
Despite having met with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Monday evening, Rousseau said afterwards that there would be "no end to actions from farmers without a concrete decision from the executive".
At his meeting with the farming representatives Monday night, Attal promised that a number of measures would be announced by the end of the week, according to Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau.
READ MORE: Why are French farmers threatening to turn France 'upside down'?
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