As part of the launch of an international movement against austerity, Yellow Vests from Namur and Luxembourg gathered on Wednesday afternoon outside the Intermarché supermarket in Saint-Servais, Namur.
They set up a stall offering local, organic, and seasonal farm produce for sale.
“This action is our way of denouncing austerity and the harmful production methods of industrial agriculture, which destroy both the health of consumers and workers, as well as biodiversity,” they said.
According to them, austerity primarily benefits the social class that enforces the destructive practices of industrial agriculture, harming biodiversity, agricultural workers, and small local producers, such as associations like the Federation of Belgian Enterprises (FEB) and their shareholders.
“Beyond boycotting large retail chains, we call for the creation of collective purchasing groups and greater support for short supply chains. This could even generate numerous jobs,” they added.
Further actions are planned. On 24 September, a sit-in protest against corruption and in favour of direct democracy will take place in Namur in front of the Walloon Parliament.
On 14 October, an international demonstration against austerity is scheduled in Brussels. Starting from that date, the Yellow Vests plan to organise numerous blockades across the country, though the specifics remain undisclosed.
