Lucas Wafflart, 18 years old, is a young farmer in training who will be able continue the family legacy thanks to the collective action of the residents of his town. Initially, the property, in bankruptcy, had been valued by the Agen court at 140,000 euros, a price that the family could not pay to recover it. After a judicial process and a public auction, Lucas managed to buy it for 115,000 euros.
The neighbors and entities of the agricultural sector They have been responsible for making this operation go ahead. The rural community mobilized on social networks and local media in the town of Mauvezin-sur-Gupie, where Wafflart is from, to convey a clear message: do not exceed the family offer. “There should not have been another buyer,” explained Karine Duc, interim president of the Lot-et-Garonne Chamber of Agriculture, in statements to Le Parisian.
Agriculture put in check
Despite the success of the protests, the auction went through a process of notable tensions. Initially, the initial price dropped to 10,045 euros, although a retiree submitted a 10% overbid in July, which required by law to hold a second auction with a starting price of 11,050 euros.
In this new auction, the representative of an individual, Mr. Touge, tried to raise the offer without success, because finally the Commercial Court of Agen awarded the sale for 115,000 euros to the association Plan Rouge Agricole, an entity created by the Chamber of Agriculture in 2005.
“We are outraged that the sale has reached this price. People have no qualms about murdering farmers,” José Pérez, president of the Rural Coordination of Lot-et-Garonne, denounced to the newspaper Le Republicain.
Lucas will receive the transfer of exploitation from Plan Rouge once he finishes his studies, despite fears of losing the farm, thus guaranteeing the continuity of the family project. According to the Chamber of Agriculture, the case reflects “the fragility of the generational change” in the French countryside and the need for “protection mechanisms against speculation” on agricultural land.