French citizens believes more in farmers than in ecologists to protect the environment. Protests go on up to Paris

According to a survey by  the CSA Institute for CNEWS, Europe 1, and JDD released on Saturday, Jan. 27, one in two French people (49 percent of respondents) say they trust farmers more than environmentalists when it comes to defending nature and the environment.

In the midst of a strike, nearly 49% of French people trust farmers when it comes to protecting nature and the environment. 26 percent of respondents trust environmentalists, while 25 percent have no opinion, according to the latest poll conducted by the CSA Institute for CNEWS, Europe 1, and JDD, released this Saturday.

In detail, men are more likely to put their trust in farmers, with 50 percent of respondents voting
Among respondents over the age of 50, farmers are even more popular, with nearly 54 percent voting. In contrast, those under 35 are more divided on the issue. Thirty percent of them have no opinion, while 43 percent put their trust in farmers, compared with 27 percent of environmentalists.

Rural communities are the most concerned

Respondents living in rural communities (less than 2,000 inhabitants) place their trust mostly in farmers (57 percent). This majority is also represented in the most densely populated cities, particularly among respondents from municipalities with between 20,000 and 99,999 inhabitants (51 percent).

However, in the Paris metropolitan area, opinions are more mixed. In fact, 39% of respondents believe that farmers are better suited to defend nature and the environment, 34% have no opinion, and 27% prefer environmentalists.

In terms of social classes, respondents were unanimous, with an overwhelming majority voting in favor of farmers: 40% of those in the highest socio-professional categories (with 27% of respondents having no opinion), 56% of those in the lowest socio-professional categories, and 50% of those not in the labor force.

The left believes in environmentalism, the right in farmers

The survey results vary widely by political proximity. On the left, respondents close to Europe Écologie – Les Verts logically voted overwhelmingly for environmentalists, with 70 percent of the vote compared to 21 percent for farmers. Among France insoumise supporters, the vote was more mixed, with 43% preferring to trust the farmers and 42% the ecologists.

This trend was completely reversed on the right. Farmers got 84 percent of the vote among respondents close to the far-right Reconquête party, compared to just 5 percent for ecologists. Similar statistics hold true for respondents supporting the Rassemblement National. 68% of them voted for the farmers, 9% for the ecologists, and 23% expressed no opinion.

Even at the center, the trend is in favor of farmers, with 45% of respondents in favor, compared to 20% for ecologists.

Protests continue, interior minister takes action

Meanwhile, farmer protests continue, and Interior Minister Demarnin has initiated a security detail to defend Paris airports and the wholesale distribution center, also in the Paris periphery, of Rungis.

Farmers have threatened a kind of “Siege of Paris” whose duration is between five days and indefinitely. Meanwhile, foreign produce is being blocked and destroyed in Narbonne, and police are being stopped, for now, by the sound of manure

You can destroy everything in France except Paris, so we will see how the government reacts in the coming days