Letters from France: Ongoing mayhem as Les Gilets Jaunes protesters refuse to play ball amid turmoil in France

It’s tipping past 9pm on Saturday night and there are still about 15 Agen supporters hanging outside the back of the stand at Stade Pierre Fabre in Castres. There’s only a metre or two between the door from the dressing rooms and where the Agen team bus is parked up, engine running and the doors of the undercarriage wide open to take the gear bags.

Agen, hovering with relegation since the season started but, thankfully for them, with Perpignan in a worse plight below them, they have just beaten the French champions in their own backyard.

It took a late try to win it but it was a thoroughly deserved and very rare win on the road.

Hence, there was no rush on the last few supporters to head off into the night. This was a win to savour and the fans, ranging in age from about 10 years of age to one old gent who looked to be in his late 70s. And he was the loudest the moment the first of the players started to come out.

“LEO, LEO”, he shouted as the out-half who kicked 11 of their 16 points emerged. Then “YOHAN, YOHAN” at the next player and so on. All the others were robustly greeted as well, all slapped on the back, hugged and kissed and sent into the warmth of the bus with chants of success ringing in their ears.

A special welcome greeted coach Mauricio Reggiardo, the former Argentine prop who is trying to keep Agen in the top flight before he departs next summer to take charge of the Castres club where he was a player.

He’s keen to greet his current fans without knocking the noses out of place of his future employers, with Castres players looking suitably peeved as they made their way home.

Their coach Christophe Urios is in the last of so many successful years with Castres, a club he tasted Bouclier de Brennus success with as a hooker in 1993 and more recently as a coach.

Two French titles in four years is unreal success for one of the last ‘town’ teams in the country but their continued failure to make an impact in Europe is baffling, having only once in 14 attempts managing to negotiate their way to the quarter-finals.

But it’s obvious Europe is not the target here. Not once during the lengthy press conference with coach and players after the game was the Champions Cup double date with Munster mentioned.

It was all about the Top 14, what happened against Agen and what they need to do to remain in contention.

The stadium was packed for last Saturday’s game against Agen but there will be plenty of empty seats next weekend when Munster arrive.

It’s a fantastic little stadium, located among houses on the edge of the town a bit like Semple Stadium in Thurles. It’s a venue which has become well known to Munster fans over the years.

The supporters who frequent it work in the factories and other outlets which are dotted around the town, many more were visible travelling in along the country roads from the hilly farmland. They park their cars on the path, expect to see an honest hour and a half from their team and accept what comes their way after that. They nosed their way into sixth place in the Top 14 and then built up a head of steam to take out neighbours and arch rivals Toulouse in the quarter-finals, big-spending Racing 92 in the semi-finals and had 16 points to spare over Montpellier in the final.

Paul O’Connell and Mike Prendergast brought Stade Francais to do a number on Castres at Stade Pierre Fabre and now Agen, two hours up the road, are after turning them over.

But the Agen supporters outside the ground on Saturday night had longer than a couple of hours to do before making it home.

Munster and Connacht fans will see at first hand next week the mayhem being caused in France by Les Gilets Jaunes — ‘The Yellow Vests’ — in a protest which has left four dead and hundreds injured.

Nobody does protests better/worse than the French and Les Gilets Jaunes, named after the hi-vis jackets which are mandatory at arm’s length of the driver in every vehicle, is a classic.

It started three weeks ago in a protest over an increase in taxes on motor fuel. There are no leaders of Les Gilets Jaunes, it’s all orchestrated by social media and differs from area to area. But they have brought France to a standstill, trucks are blocked and delayed at junctions, the toll-booths on the motorway have been taken over and drivers can go through free of charge at most. Black bags have been placed over speed cameras, some fuel depots have been blockaded while the past three Saturdays have seen riots in Paris and other cities.

Protestors blocked the roads into Castres on Saturday night, bonfires blazing as mayhem ensued. It was repeated in hundreds of towns and villages all over the country. For the most part it is peaceful but people are angry. Angry at the government, angry at Les Gilets Jaunes for the disruption, just angry at what they see as rising prices.

Agen may have celebrated on Saturday night but rugby isn’t life and death in France at the moment.