In Foix, Friday, July 11, 2025, around twenty breeders expressed their solidarity towards François, whose herd of sheep was seriously affected by the catarrhale ovine fever (FCO). This breeder in Alzen, Ariège, found himself deprived of compensation despite the loss of a third of his herd.
The continuous showdown. This Friday, July 11, 2025, there were about twenty breeders, grouped in a circle near the Passejade park, in Foix, market day. Littlely inclined to expose themselves, they decided to speak, megaphone in hand, to express their support for François. This 48 -year -old sheep farmer in Alzen, Ariège, saw a good part of his livestock decimated by Catarrhale Ovine fever (FCO).
“There were 36 dead in three weeks at the peak of the epidemic last August,” he said. However, his request for compensation was rejected by state services, failing to provide the required administrative “evidence”. “I have all the supporting documents for the abduction of corpses over the three weeks it took place, but I did not do a PCR, a test which proves that the virus was present in the herd.”
His farm was therefore not recognized as impacted by the FCO, despite a rendering voucher attesting to the disappearance of a third of his herd in a very short time. “How can we lose as much sheep in three weeks other than this disease?” He wonders. Edema, cyanosis of the mucous membranes … All clinical signs were present.
“When you live a carnage, it does not come to the idea of telling you: ah well, I will be proof to get reimbursed!”, He said, bitter. All the more, he adds, that the information on the steps to follow has arrived far too late. At his side, another breeder, compensated without having a rendering voucher, denounces the arbitrariness of the criteria. “We have the right to an error, it’s the same thing when you fill your taxes,” he believes. It is completely unfair “.
“We can no longer be satisfied with bureaucratic answers”
This feeling of injustice, the breeders decided to express it loud and clear. In turn, they take the megaphone and start stroll through the streets of Foix. In front of the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT), a breeder calls out: “We ask to be received in an emergency.” But no one comes out. “We can no longer be satisfied with bureaucratic answers,” insists Karine, who considers that he does not perceive any support. She recalls that in 2008, the FCO had already struck hard. “What has been done since then there has not been more surveys, epidemiological studies … No transmission of information to breeders.”
When the disease resurfaced last year, the operators found themselves just as disadvantaged. “There are at least four hyperactive variants. The government has decided, to calm things down, to order and provide free vaccines on at least two of them, but they will only be available in mid-July. In terms of delay, if you want to be cynical, it is completely ridiculous what they do to François,” she denounces.
In the streets, the reactions are contrasting. Passers -by stop, listen. A merchant frowns: “We don’t understand what you say, it’s useless.” Others show their annoyance in the face of sound volume … regardless of opinions and despite the difficulty of being listened to this Friday, François will not give up.
For its part, the prefecture is camping on its positions: “For breeders who could not produce the certificate of home status, it is not possible, for the sake of equity and in order to ensure the correct justification of the budgetary defense, to give a favorable follow -up to their request.” Information, continues the prefecture, on several occasions to the knowledge of breeders, by the departmental health group (GDS), the State or even professional agricultural organizations.
As a reminder, in Ariège, 2 million euros will be paid to more than 250 breeders to compensate them for the damage caused by the FCO in their herd.
