FOIX, France – A car rammed into a roadblock put up by protesting farmers in south-western France on Jan 23, killing a woman and seriously injuring her husband and teenage daughter.

Farmers have been blocking roads across the country in protest at what they say are deteriorating conditions in the agriculture sector.

The three occupants of the car that crashed into the barrier on a motorway in the south-western department of Ariege were taken into police custody on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter, police said.

The vehicle was travelling on the dual-lane carriageway leading to the roadblock despite it being clearly marked as closed to traffic because of the protest, Ariege prefect Simon Bertoux told reporters.

But a local prosecutor, Mr Olivier Mouysset, said that early results of the investigation suggested that the car, carrying a couple and a friend, had not rammed the barrier intentionally.

In the dark, the car ran into a wall made of bales of straw at the roadblock, hit the three people and came to a halt only when it crashed into the trailer of a tractor, Mr Mouysset said.

‘At speed’

A police source added that the car was travelling “at speed” as it drove into the barrier.

A test showed that the driver, a 44-year-old man, was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

All three occupants of the car are Armenian nationals, Mr Bertoux said.

The broader south-western Occitanie region has been a focal point of farmers’ protests in recent days.

Farming union representatives on Jan 22 met Prime Minister Gabriel Attal to discuss their grievances, which include low food prices, rising charges for farmers, higher fuel prices and environmental protection rules that they say are unacceptable.

The woman who was killed was a member of the powerful FNSEA farmers’ union, which has been leading nationwide protests.

Tensions have been running high, with the FNSEA announcing protests all this week and beyond if the government fails to respond to its demands.

“In the current circumstances that farming has to endure, this kind of drama is difficult to bear,” said FNSEA president Arnaud Rousseau, who first reported the incident.

The woman killed was 35, her husband is 40 and their daughter 14.

‘Nation is devastated’

At his meeting with the farming representatives on Jan 22 evening, Mr Attal made no immediate announcement but promised that a number of measures would be unveiled by the end of the week, according to Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau.

“The nation is devastated” by the accident, Mr Attal said on Jan 23 on X, formerly Twitter.

President Emmanuel Macron said he had asked his government “to offer concrete solutions” to the farmers’ problems.

“My thoughts go out to the victims and their loved ones who are mourning them,” he said, also on X, calling the Jan 23 accident “a drama that has devastated us all”.

Mr Rousseau said the farmers’ mobilisation would “not be affected by this drama” and that “the struggle continues”.

Several motorways across the country were blocked by tractors on Jan 23.

Protesting farmers at roadblocks observed minutes of silence for the woman killed in the accident. AFP