'We're Walking on Our Heads': The Upside-Down World of French Farming
In rural France, the signs don’t just suggest the world is turning upside down — they literally show it.
Drive around rural France, and you might spot village signs flipped upside down. Is it an elaborate prank? A sudden nationwide screw shortage? Nope, it’s the latest in a string of protests from French farmers.
The upside-down signs, sometimes paired with stickers displaying the slogan "Nous marchons sur la tête" (we're walking on our heads), symbolises the disorientation among France’s farming community. What started as a local protest in the Tarn region has spread nationwide, with the "rebellion of the signs" highlighting the increasingly precarious nature of their profession.
Local farmers, Michel and Nadia, explained their concerns, “Our government doesn’t understand. They make stupid illogical rules”, explains Nadia. “It’s impossible to keep up with all these new laws”, agrees Michel.
They describe to me how there are only certain times they are allowed to cut their hedges, and only certain pesticides they are allowed to use. I asked them what they thought of the signs. “It has no impact”, they explain, “I support the action, but it won’t make a difference… these politicians haven’t done any agricultural work in their life, how can they know what’s best for us? “Macron is a dictator, he doesn’t listen” she says, putting her hands over her ears. “He only listens to himself. It’s stupid. Totally stupid.”
Why the frustration? Farmers are tangled in contradictory policies. They say on one hand, they’re pushed to adopt greener practices to reduce their carbon footprint. On the other, they’re told to ramp up production to ensure France’s food sovereignty. Add to this the spiralling costs of diesel for their tractors, late EU subsidies, and a deluge of red tape, and it’s no wonder the world seems so topsy-turvy.
Across the Channel, British farmers face similar concerns. While post-Brexit trade deals flood the market with cheap imports, British farmers struggle to stay afloat. They are protesting under similar banners like “No Farmers, No Food, No Future.” Parallel issues include, bureaucratic nightmares, rising costs, and the fear that their products are being undercut by unfair competition.
While the protests might differ in style, the sentiment is the same. Farming, once the backbone of these nations, is now a battleground. And with no resolution in sight, the upside-down signs will continue to spread across the French countryside, reflecting a world that feels as disoriented as the farmers themselves.