Dermatosis Nodular: clashes between Gendarmes and Demonstrators on a Farm in Doubs, What Happened?
Clashes broke out between gendarmes and demonstrators on a farm in Doubs, where 83 cows had to be slaughtered due to lumpy skin disease.
The gendarmes used tear gas on Tuesday 2nd December 2025 to evacuate demonstrators to a farm in Doubs, where veterinarians must slaughter 83 cows in the name of the fight against lumpy skin disease (LSD).
Some 175 gendarmes were deployed and two people arrested in this Pouilley-Français farm, near Besançon, whose owner had launched an appeal, relayed by the Rural Coordination and the Peasant Confederation, to come together to prevent slaughters.
At the end of the morning, the gendarmes carried out the order to fire tear gas around the stable, in order to clear access for veterinary services, noted a correspondent from the’AFP.
A “defensive shot from LBD”
“It was ultra-violent”, denounced Stéphane Galais, national spokesperson for the Peasant Confederation, present on site. “We can no longer stand this authoritarian way of managing health crises”.
The prefect of Doubs, Rémi Bastille, banned all demonstrations “around the farm” on Monday evening.
🐮 Vendredi 28 novembre, un foyer de Dermatose nodulaire contagieuse (#DNC) bovine a été confirmé dans le Doubs, à Pouilley-Français. Il s’agit du premier cas dans le département depuis le premier foyer détecté en Savoie le 29 juin.
Pour plus d’infos👉 https://t.co/YmCwIOIA9p pic.twitter.com/CfZMppnS3D
— Préfet du Doubs (@Prefet25) December 1, 2025
In a press release released Tuesday morning, the prefecture reported some 300 demonstrators, faced with “a security system made up of 175 gendarmes”.
“If the majority of demonstrators are calm and peaceful, the police had to make two arrests”, according to the prefecture.
“The police carried out defensive LBD fire in front of tractors moving towards gendarmes, but no person was injured”, according to the press release.
The public prosecutor of Besançon, Cédric Logelin, specified that the two people arrested are being prosecuted for “violence with weapons” and refusal to comply by the driver of a vehicle.
He added that the tractor driver “was hit in the shoulder” and that medical examinations are underway for the two in custody.
🔴 #DNC : TENSION MAXIMALE DANS LE DOUBS — LES ÉLEVEURS GAZÉS AVANT LA DÉCISION DU TRIBUNAL
Alors que le recours doit être examiné au tribunal à 11h30, les forces de l’ordre sont intervenues ce matin, allant jusqu’à gazer les éleveurs présents.
L’abattage n’a pas encore… pic.twitter.com/4R21QzLGcV
— Coordination Rurale (@coordinationrur) December 2, 2025
The agricultural organizations had referred the matter to the administrative court of Besançon, but wasted effort, the latter rejected their interim appeal at the beginning of the afternoon.
In its order, the court underlines in particular that the “presence of a contaminated animal demonstrates that the vaccination of the entire herd was carried out too late to protect it from dermatosis nodular “, and poses risks to farms located in proximity.
The prefecture confirmed in a press release that “the operation to depopulate the livestock of Pouilley-Français is underway”. Forcing a large part of the demonstrators to leave.
The agricultural organizations had referred the matter to the administrative court of Besançon, but wasted effort, the latter rejected their interim appeal at the beginning of the afternoon.
In its order, the court underlines in particular that the “presence of a contaminated animal demonstrates that the vaccination of the entire herd was carried out too late to protect it from dermatosis nodular”, and poses risks to farms located in proximity.
The prefecture confirmed in a press release that “the operation to depopulate the livestock of Pouilley-Français is underway”. Forcing a large part of the demonstrators to leave.
A cow tested positive for dermatosis nodular
The cattle were vaccinated against lumpy skin disease, but one cow tested positive, which the state services say should result the slaughter of the entire herd.
Céline Lhomme, the operator’s wife, told l’AFP that the cow in question is “doing very well” and that the nodules that have appeared could be linked to her vaccination.
She indicated that she had asked the Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard, originally from Doubs, to intervene. “She turns a deaf ear, we have no news”, regretted Céline Lhomme.
According to Laurence Lyonnais-Meslob, spokesperson for the Peasant Confederation in Doubs and the Territoire de Belfort, cattle can be put under surveillance, put under cover and see how things evolve, knowing that all the farms around are vaccinated. The risk (of contagion) is very, very, very low.
At the other end of the country, around a hundred demonstrators tried on Monday to oppose the slaughter, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, of around 80 cattle as part of the fight against the DNC, before being dislodged by the police.
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