Health · Mental Health · 4 hrs ago
France expands efforts to support farmers facing mental distress
In France, farmers face a suicide risk 30% to 46% higher than the rest of the population.
National coordinator Olivier Damaisin says isolation and loneliness are major causes, alongside financial strain, family tensions and pressure from running a farm.
Reliable recent figures are lacking, so it is not possible to say whether farmer suicides are increasing.
Since 2021, public awareness efforts have helped bring more calls for support, and 12,000 volunteers are trained to spot distress and alert the agricultural social security system or local agriculture chambers.
The hardest task is finding people who are suffering; support can include help with farm paperwork or taking time off.
Drought is affecting all farming sectors this year, and Damaisin warns it could be a particularly difficult year.
France is expanding efforts to identify and support farmers experiencing mental distress.
Olivier Damaisin, the national interministerial coordinator for the agricultural mental-health prevention plan, says isolation and loneliness are major factors.
Farmers’ risk of suicide is estimated to be 30% to 46% higher than that of the rest of the population.
A network of 12,000 volunteer sentinels can alert the MSA and chambers of agriculture when they spot a worrying situation.
Damaisin says all agricultural sectors are affected this year, particularly because of drought.
- Who
- Farmers experiencing mental distress in France, and the people working to support them.
- What
- France is expanding efforts to identify and help farmers in distress.
- When
- The article was published on 14 October 2026. It says communication efforts have been underway since 2021.
- Where
- France.
- Why
- Isolation and loneliness are major causes of distress, while financial and intergenerational problems and pressure managing farms can also contribute.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Communication efforts to address agricultural distress began, according to Damaisin.
La Dépêche published an account of efforts to support farmers facing mental distress.
- Annual suicides in France
- 9,000
- Farmers’ suicide risk
- 30% to 46% higher than the rest of the population
- Volunteer sentinels
- 12,000 across France
- Communication efforts
- Underway since 2021
- Outdated suicide data
- More than 10 years old
What people are saying
The main causes, as for other French citizens, are isolation and loneliness.
The biggest problem is succeeding in identifying the people who are suffering.
There are solutions.
This year all sectors are affected, notably because of drought. It could be a dark year.