Farmers' anger is spreading across Europe, with mobilizations in Spain and Italy, and Paris is trying to contain the crisis by calling for “an exemption for French agriculture” and announcing new measures.
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Too many bureaucratic standards, too low incomes, inflation, competition from foreign products, rising fuel prices: the litany of demands can be found in most countries where agriculture is dissatisfied.
In France, new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who made his general political statement on Tuesday at a time when farmers have been blocking strategic routes for two days, promised to “be there” to respond to the crisis.
The European aid from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2023, which he had promised to accelerate, will be disbursed “by March 15”, assured Gabriel Attal, who listed the measures already taken as the waiver of the tax on non-road diesel vehicles and promised that the government would go “even further.”
Without giving details, he also mentioned a strengthening of tax subsidies for growers and “a comprehensive control plan for product traceability”, while more and more farmers have decided to inspect trucks themselves. Visibly strange on the streets of France.
Measures that did not convince agricultural union leaders interviewed by AFP. In a sign that tensions are not easing, he will host the powerful FNSEA union again on Tuesday evening, according to a senior management source and another person close to the matter.
“Speak”
“We are not moving (…) until concrete emergency measures are taken,” Alice Avisse, deputy general secretary of the Oise section of the FNSEA, the majority agricultural union, had previously stated.
“It's complete nothing, blah blah,” reacted Serge Bousquet-Cassagne, president of the Rural Coordination (a minority union, editor's note) of Lot-et-Garonne (southwest). “We are completely disappointed but also motivated by the fact that we have been deceived by this smoking government,” he added.
The Confédération paysanne, the third agricultural union to criticize the prevailing model of “productivism” that only benefits the “agricultural economy”, complained about “largely inadequate” measures for farmers' income.
For his part, President Emmanuel Macron, during a state visit to Sweden, committed to defending several demands of French farmers in Brussels, on poultry imports from Ukraine, on the draft trade agreement between the EU and the Latin American bloc Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay). and Paraguay) and unused commitments.
The head of state will meet on Thursday with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, in particular about the arrival of Ukrainian products in the Union and the freezing of the EU-Mercosur project.
In any case, the movement of anger is spreading across the entire continent: after demonstrations in Germany, Poland, Romania, Belgium and Italy in recent weeks, the three largest Spanish agricultural unions have announced nationwide “mobilizations” for the “coming weeks”.
In France, traffic disruptions continue to occur almost everywhere in the country. More than a quarter of French departments (30) were affected after sometimes spending the night in their tractor.
Several strategic blockades were organized around Paris but also on several highways, and many said they were determined to maintain the blockades until their case was won.
But despite the threats from the unions, the announced “siege” of the French capital has not yet taken place.
In Italy, dozens of farmers protested with their tractors near Milan (north) on Tuesday saying they had been “cheated by Europe”.
Amid growing protests from the agricultural world, the Greek government has promised to speed up the disbursement of financial aid to farmers affected by severe flooding last year.
fallow
In particular, the new CAP, which has tightened environmental obligations since 2023, and the European Green Deal (or “Green Deal”) legislation – even if they have not yet come into force – are emerging.
Therefore, the European Commission announced on Tuesday that it is considering adopting a new derogation from the rules on brownfields, requiring the retention of 4% of fallow or non-productive land.
France may be the first beneficiary of European agricultural subsidies, with more than nine billion euros a year, but its farmers denounce what they see as a CAP that is impractical.
“France is one of the few large agricultural countries whose market shares are declining,” says a September 2022 report from the French Senate. In 20 years, its exports have moved from second to sixth place worldwide – and to third place in Europe . , to the Netherlands and Germany.
More generally, European farmers complain about unfair competition at the agricultural level, particularly because imported products are generally not subject to the same regulations as in the EU.
The number of agricultural businesses in France has also quadrupled in 50 years: from 1.5 million in 1970, there are fewer than 400,000 today.