The Green Brigade

There was a knock on the door last week,it was the Green Brigade; four blokes in a lorry, with assorted mowers,brush cutters and chain saws in the back. They used to be called the Parks Department but we're very environmentally concious round here these days
It transpires that the Tour de France is coming through here next month on their way into (and up) the Pyrennees and what they want to do is to cut back all the trees that overhang the road. "For health and safety reasons " I enquire, non, not at all, it's all to do with the over-riding power of television; their helecopter must have an unimpeeded view of the race.
OK by me, a lot of the 2 and a bit hectares (5 acres) here is woodland along the road and there's at least 2 large overhanging oaktrees which could be dangerous. The Green Brigade also volunteer to take the wood away even though it's not really part of their job; but, on the other hand, it does fetch 55 Euros a stere (thats a cubic metre with air gaps in it ).
This week there has been quite a bit of excitement generated (as excitement goes in the backwoods!), because at the same time as the the trees are being tidied the grass verges are being levelled and the ditches cleared alongside the road leading up to the villagefrom the town. This 3 kilometre climb has reduced my grandsons, on their bikes to tears, but doesn't even feature as a category 4 climb on the tour.
Oh yes ! The excitment? Well as they cleared the ditches they also cut out the bridges that gave access to the fields. Like all french work, it starts, most of the work is finished but then the workforce disappears before final completion. In this case they have left the concrete pipes in the fields ready to remake the bridges but that means there is no access for the farmers.They are desperate to get to the hay crop,which is already weeks late (due to wet weather) and could soon be flattened and useless.
They are blockading the Town Hall with their tractors, demanding action! In the country that developed the blockade into an art form, this is surely the most un-successfull one ever. You see our Town Hall is only part time and is open for only 2 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, during the lunch hour. No french peasant farmer is going to miss his lunch, so when the church clock, across the road strikes 12 they start up and leave; a few minutes later the mayor rushes back from work to open up