Katy and I have been seeing anti-Monsanto graffiti all around Morges for the last couple of days. We weren’t really sure why, until we did a bit of Googling. Apparently, Monsanto has its EMEA HQ in Morges. Also, apparently, while we enjoying wine in the vineyards last Saturday, a bunch of yahoos were trucked in as part of an organized protest march. While most of the protest was “peaceful”, a small band of idiots took it upon themselves to vandalize local business that have absolutely nothing to do with the issue under protest.
In Morges, where Monsanto has its headquarters for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, they were more than a thousand according to police, and more than 1,600 according to organizers, to express their anger against the US group. Protesters have crossed the barriers that prevented access to the building and hundreds of them settled on the lawns of the site of the multinational agrochemical. They faced about thirty riot police for more than an hour, but without confrontation. Only a few slogans were written on the pavement in front of the offices. Previously, protesters marched in the city without incident, although much to the surprise of town residents who were finishing up their weekend shopping in the market.