French Farmers Intensify Andorra Blockades Over Livestock Cull Protests

French farmers protesting against livestock culls linked to contagious nodular dermatitis (DNC) have intensified blockades on key routes into Andorra, with the Tarascó site on the RN20 holding firm and a new action now underway near Ur in Cerdanya.

The RN20 remains closed at the Sabart roundabout south of Tarascó, where protesters have set up camp tents and reinforced barriers, including an overnight "operation castor" that felled around 100 trees to block the parallel RD20—"les Corniches" route—between Casanova, Sèrras e Alens and Senconac. Vehicles to upper Ariège and Andorra are limited to the narrow, winding RD123, open temporarily two-way but restricted to widths under 2.20 metres, with trucks over 19 tonnes banned and utmost caution advised. Trucks are also prohibited between Foix and Ur. Buses, lorries, and motorhomes face detours via Pyrénées-Orientales through the Puymorens tunnel and pass, or rail options to L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre with 18 daily Toulouse links.

A new blockade began Friday at 10am on the RN20 near Ur, close to Puigcerdà, involving about 150 farmers from French and Spanish Cerdanya and 60 tractors. Organiser Christian Tallant said it targets the RN20, RN320, and RN22, forcing diversions via Mont-Louis, Llívia, Puigcerdà, and the Riu Runer border crossing. Local resident access remains unspecified. The action, planned through Sunday, adds to Tarascó's ongoing protest and aims to push France toward culling only sick animals and vaccinating all cattle—starting with Ariège's 1,000 farmers by year-end, now extended to Hérault and Tarn for 750,000 animals total. Tallant hopes to compel Andorra to press Paris and noted a Paris meeting with Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard Friday morning; the Ur site could lift that evening if demands are met, but may extend indefinitely without progress.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has called ministers and prefects to Matignon Friday for talks on de-escalation and vaccine rollout. The dispute follows France's DNC protocol, which farmers say forces disproportionate culls.

Andorra faces severe fallout, especially in Pas de la Casa, where shops report desolation: empty streets, no French tourists, scant Spanish or local visitors, and minimal sales—one merchant noted just two small local transactions Thursday without opening the till. Businesses lament near-zero pre-Christmas revenue.

Environment, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Guillem Casal confirmed the Tarascó blockade persists but said intermittent closures at Tor de Querol and Vilafranca de Conflent have ended. At a government briefing, he called Andorra an unwilling victim in a decentralised protest lacking clear leaders, voicing solidarity with businesses and noting ongoing diplomacy.

Encamp's major consoler, Sònia Mas, criticised French security forces for inaction, questioning why they "don't do what needs doing" despite repeated harm to Pas de la Casa's economy. She praised Andorra's government efforts to avert further blocks and pledged continued advocacy, while opposition councillor Josep Lluís Agudo urged Encamp to be more proactive.