French fishermen blockaded a fuel depot in Frontignan, southern France, early Wednesday before riot police moved in to clear the site, as a growing protest movement over soaring diesel prices and deteriorating working conditions spreads across the Mediterranean coast.
Dawn Blockade Dispersed by Police
Around 100 fishermen gathered at approximately 3 a.m. to prevent access to the depot in the Hérault region. By 9:30 a.m., several columns of CRS riot police arrived and faced down the protesters, who shouted challenges before dispersing.
“You’re affected too! Don’t forget you go to the pump as well! We’re dying of hunger,” one fisherman shouted at the officers.
An hour before the police intervention, a delegation of fishermen’s representatives had departed for Sète to meet with regional Occitanie authorities, which oversee the port of Sète.
Demands for Ministerial Meeting
“The goal of this operation is to keep the movement going until we’re received by the fisheries minister,” Ange Natoli, a fishermen’s representative, told reporters early Wednesday. According to the fishermen, a meeting with Catherine Chabaud is scheduled for late Thursday morning.
The objective is “to show that we’re not letting up the pressure. And depending on what’s said tomorrow, we’ll decide how the movement continues,” Natoli added.
Video footage showed a fire burning at a crossroads leading to the fuel depot.
Escalating Protests Across the Region
The Frontignan blockade follows similar action Tuesday, when fishermen blocked a fuel depot at Fos-sur-Mer for several hours before riot police intervened to clear it. Protesters displayed banners reading “Europe is killing us” and “The EU is sinking our boats and Paris just watches.”
In the port of Sète, fishermen also prevented a Corsica Ferries vessel from departing on Tuesday.
Natoli warned that without “significant progress” following the meeting with the minister, “I don’t think the movement will stop.” He added: “We risk escalating the movement” because “we can’t work at a loss.”
“The mobilization will last until we get something on the price of diesel. We can’t work under these conditions anymore, we’re no longer profitable,” Kévin, a fisherman from Grau-du-Roi in the Gard region, told BFMTV.
United Front Against Rising Costs
Regional fishing committees from Occitanie, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and Corsica, along with the three Mediterranean producer organizations and maritime unions representing both employees and employers, launched a joint protest movement along the Mediterranean coast on Monday.
Fishing professionals denounce “a continuous deterioration of their working conditions,” citing “rising operating costs and fuel prices” as well as a “proliferation of administrative and regulatory constraints.”
France is Europe’s second-largest producer of fishery products after Spain, with 477,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish caught in 2024 — a volume nearly stable at plus 1 percent compared with 2023, according to government data.
The government has reassured the public there is no risk of fuel shortages despite difficulties at Total service stations.
