French farmers ‘heavily impacted’ by climate crisis, both psychologically and economically.

Alison Sargent is pleased to welcome Jean-Mathieu Thévenot, farmer in the French Basque Country, a member of the Confédération Paysanne farmers’ union in France, and part of the international movement La Via Campesina. According to Thévenot, 2026 marks a turning point where climate disruption has become an immediate agricultural, economic, and cultural reality. While his own farm has been only partially affected because their production cycle ended earlier in the season, he witnesses the daily struggles of vegetable growers, livestock farmers, and fruit producers across southwestern France.