Grim plight of the 'invisible' seasonal farm workers in France

By Tomas Statius

Mediapart and our partners in a Europe-wide investigation overseen by Lighthouse Reports have spoken to migrants employed as seasonal farm workers across the continent. In south-west France workers at farming group Fermes Larrère have made a formal complaint about their conditions to the workplace inspectorate the Inspection du Travail. They have spoken of gruelling, relentless shifts, poor housing conditions and verbal abuse. Tomas Statius reports.

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Like all good breakouts, timing is everything. It is precisely 6pm on May 15th 2020 when Juan meets up with Mariannick in a little street adjacent to the house where he has been living at Labouheyre in south-west France. This large building, with exposed beams and located in a small village surrounded by fields and pine trees, has an agreeable setting. Trees partially conceal the front of the building while at the back a bay window looks out onto a garden. But these lodgings are anything but pleasant. Inside the cupboards are broken, the paintwork is faded and the toilet blocs are stained.

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