A FRENCH farmer who sprayed manure at a group of travellers camped on his land now says he fears “reprisals”.
Surprising footage captures farmers using tractors to spray dozens of white caravans with liquid fertilizer in a field in the Vosges region of north-east France.
Pierre Richard, 37, along with other farmers, decided to douse a group that had camped without authorization on his family’s property near the village of Le Syndicat with liquid manure.
The field, passed down through five generations, is used to grow hay for Pierre’s 50 dairy cows.
He claims police told him there was nothing they could do about the situation, forcing him to take matters in his own hands.
As the tractors approached, people inside the caravans were seen running away.
One person leapt onto a moving tractor, clinging to its side and shaking his fist in anger.
The irate farmer told the Daily Mail: “I’d simply had enough. They expect us to remain silent and allow them to occupy our land. But this time, I put my foot down.”
Pierre added he feared “reprisals” from the travellers after the ordeal.
He stated: “You never know when they’ll return. You can’t predict what they might do. We have no information on who they are or what they have previously done.”
“I’ve got nothing against travellers. We just want this to stop. So that we can do our jobs and feed the people.”
The farmer claimed that the 250 caravans ignored a designated traveller site nearby.
He said: “They preferred to stay here on my land. It’s a beautiful place, in the mountains, next to a river, and with fresh green grass.
“They arrived at about 8pm on a Sunday night. When I heard they were there I went down there, but it was too late.
“They had broken through the barriers and set up camp, hundreds of them.
“The following day I went to the police, but they said there was nothing they could do.
“So, on the Tuesday we went out with the tractors and sprayed the rest of the prairie with slurry to make sure no more of them would come.
“As you can see from the footage, we stayed a minimum of 10 metres from the caravans.”
The group of agricultural workers from Le Syndicat who sprayed the squatters previously feared prosecution for the act.
But they told The Sun on Tuesday that a judge ordered up to 500 members of the travelling community to evict the encampment.
Farmer François, 64, said: “It is a major victory for us. A civil court decision went in our favour.
“The travellers were told to move out within 24 hours, or else face police intervention and fines.
“Around 500 of them, travelling in about 200 caravans, all left.”
The group is said to have been en route to Grostenquin – about 90 minutes from the Luxembourg-France border – for an annual evangelical festival.
The religious event, organized by the evangelical group Vie et Lumière (‘Life and Light’), is planned for August 24 and 31, at the Grostenquin airbase.
Around 5,000 caravans and between 15,000 to 20,000 people are expected to attend, according to regional news outlet Actu.fr.
The event’s return has apparently sparked controversy, with some local officials deeming it “unacceptable,” while farmers argue it disrupts their operations during the hectic late-summer period.
However, rights groups argue that this reflects long-standing discrimination against the travelling community in France.
Last year, Brit farmer Jack Bellamy used the same method after discovering a camper van parked on his land.
