Farmers watch French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announcing new measures for farmers on a blocked highway on Thursday in Chilly-Mazarin, south of Paris.
Christophe Ena/AP
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Christophe Ena/AP
Farmers watch French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announcing new measures for farmers on a blocked highway on Thursday in Chilly-Mazarin, south of Paris.
Christophe Ena/AP
PARIS — The two major unions representing farmers in France have declared their decision to suspend protests and remove road blockades across the country, following the French prime minister’s announcement of a new set of measures they view as “concrete progress.” Farmers have been demonstrating for days across the country to protest low incomes, excessive regulation, and unfair competition from overseas. The President of the Young Farmers union, Arnaud Gaillot, was joined by the head of France’s largest farmers union FNSEA on Thursday, stating: “We urge our members to lift the blockades.”
“We have been heard on a number of points, with tangible progress,” including emergency measures to financially support struggling farmers and wine producers, said Arnaud Rousseau, president of FNSEA. Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal disclosed a new set of measures, in addition to other pledges made in recent days. His speech coincided with convoys of hundreds of irate farmers driving heavy-duty tractors causing chaos outside the European Union’s headquarters, demanding relief from increasing prices and bureaucracy. “The question is currently being asked throughout Europe: is there a future for our agriculture? Of course, the answer is yes,” Attal said. At road blockades across France, protesters watched the speech on smartphones and televisions they had set up. There were traffic barricades on eight highways around Paris on Thursday morning amidst a large police presence.
Attal assured that there would be no new pesticide bans “without a solution” and stated that no pesticides authorized elsewhere in the EU would be banned in France. This decision was in response to demands by French farmers who have criticized stricter regulations in France for pesticide products compared to neighboring countries. Additionally, Attal announced that France would immediately ban the import of fruits and vegetables from outside the EU that have been treated with Thiaclopride — an insecticide currently prohibited in the bloc.
France will propose the establishment of a “European control force” to combat fraud, particularly related to health regulations, and to combat the import of food products that do not meet European and French health standards, he stated. Attal also reaffirmed France’s opposition to the EU signing a free-trade agreement with the Mercosur trade group. “There is no question of France accepting this treaty,” he said.
The government’s objectives with the newly announced measures are “to restore the value of food” and “to increase farmers’ income, protect them from unfair competition, and simplify their daily lives,” he remarked. Attal also announced 150 million euros ($162 million) in assistance to livestock farmers and a reduction in taxes for farms being passed down from older to younger generations. Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau, speaking after Attal, revealed a 2 billion euro ($2.16 billion) package to provide loans for those establishing themselves as farmers. The French government has also doubled the number of inspections to penalize food industrial groups and supermarkets that do not comply with a 2018 law designed to ensure a fair price for farmers. The penalty can amount to up to 2% of sales revenues for companies that do not comply.
