The anger of the French rural population, which is threatening to boil over, is already reaching the gates of Paris, and the new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is trying his best to stop a protest that the far right is exploiting in view of the European elections in June. The response to the unrest came in the form of an announcement made by the young Attal this Friday in southwest France; These are a series of measures to alleviate the financial burden and bureaucratic hurdles faced by the sector. It is, above all, a seduction operation to convince farmers that there is nothing more important than them and that the government will do whatever is necessary to respond to their demands. This was unconvincing: the main union, the FNSEA, said it would continue the mobilization.
“We have decided to give priority to farmers,” Attal said in a speech at a cattle farm in Montastruc-de-Salies, a commune in the Haute-Garonne province. And he repeated the key phrase several times, in case anyone didn't understand: “Above all. Especially the rest.” Then he added: “Without agriculture, France wouldn’t be France.” Meanwhile, traffic closures were increasing on dozens of highways and streets across the country. The blockades began just over a week ago on a highway south of Toulouse and in that time it is the first crisis that Attal, a 34-year-old career politician, has faced since his appointment by President Emmanuel Macron on January 9th.
French farmers' tractors are blocking the A1 motorway in Chamant near Paris this Friday. YVES HERMAN (Portal)
On Thursday, the FNSEA counted 75,000 mobilized farmers and 41,000 tractors in 85 of France's 101 provinces. There have been violent actions, such as the burning of a Mutua Social Agrícola building in the southern city of Narbonne during a demonstration this Friday. On Tuesday, two people – a 54-year-old farmer and her 14-year-old daughter – died after a car accidentally crashed into a roadblock in Pamiers, near the border with Spain. The closures at five access points to Paris, for the first time this Friday, should have been a warning: the movement can grow and advance into the capital if necessary.
This is a people's movement with symbolic capital – farmers and peasants feeding the land, connecting it to the land, preserving what is essential – that other sectors envy. Furthermore, it is a movement with decades of experience blocking roads and other forms of protest: the agricultural demonstration is almost a hallmark of France. It is a rather conservative movement that has always enjoyed the goodwill of the authorities. The farmer is listened to and respected. In a section of the left that is critical of the heavy hand of the police in social or environmental protests and is frustrated by so many failed demands, this is seen as a comparative grievance.
Dilemma of those in power
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Among the measures to appease the anger of the rural population, Attal has announced the reduction of bureaucratic hurdles and sanctions for industrialists and wholesalers who do not respect the fair distribution of income with producers. The most important measure is the abolition of the increase in the diesel tax rate for tractors, one of the demands that sparked the protest. It directly touches on the dilemma faced by some in power: how to combat climate change without harming certain sectors that are sometimes the most disadvantaged? This does not apply to all farmers or to all agricultural sectors, but many complain about falling incomes, bureaucratic overload and international competition. And they feel unfairly excluded by environmentalists.
The protests have given them a visibility they haven't had in years, at a time when there have been similar mobilizations in countries like the Netherlands and Germany. There is a common denominator: opposition to environmental regulations that they believe are harming them and a desire for recognition. These countries also share the far right's good positioning towards European women. And the image of polarization between city and country; the elites and the people. It might remind you of the French yellow vests that cornered Macron in 2018. But the differences are significant: the farmers are organized in powerful unions and have bargaining experience.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal at the Montastruc-de-Salies cattle farm, where he announced aid measures for farmers this Friday. NACHO TWELVE (Portal)
However, Macron is concerned about the speed at which the protests are flaring up. A little more than six months after the unrest in the multicultural suburbs, a year after the protests against pension reform began and five after the yellow vests, the last thing the president wants is another social crisis. And worse, in the countryside, which has so much symbolic meaning in France. Attal, making his true debut in office, rolled up his sleeves this Friday and plunged into the mud. In his speech at the farm, he eulogized agriculture with patriotic accents. And he visited a closure point on the A64 motorway to discuss with the farmers.
“I got the message,” he said. “I heard you.” FNSEA President Arnaud Rousseau responded: “What was said this afternoon does not appease the anger, we have to go further.” Attal's success or failure in dealing with the crisis could shape his time as head of government. It's in court.
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