Paris (AFP) – This Wednesday, agricultural protests intensified in France to demand a “quick response” from the government to their demands, a day after the death of a farmer and her daughter who were run over by a roadblock.
First change: January 24, 2024 – 4:35 p.m. Last change: January 24, 2024 – 4:38 p.m
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“The determination is absolute. All departments will take measures, with more or less permanent measures,” said the leader of the largest agricultural union FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau, on Franceinfo radio.
The union leader confirmed that the aim is to obtain “quick answers” from the government of President Emmanuel Macron and to this end will present a list of about forty demands on Wednesday evening.
Fallow land, use of pesticides, European environmental standards, fuel prices, trade agreements like the one negotiated between the European Union and Mercosur… The list of points of criticism varies depending on the Union.
But they all share the same concern for the future of an emblematic sector in France, between the desire to produce and export and the need to reduce its impact on biodiversity and the climate.
“The price of fuel, all the taxes and even those of future generations… They don't make you want to settle down,” Yoan Joannic, a 20-year-old farmer, told AFP, moved by the death of the farmer and her daughter.
Road closures across the country, the throwing of a bale of straw at a McDonald's restaurant in Agen (southwest), a dumping of manure in front of prefectures or the blockade of a Lactalis factory, the world's leading dairy sector… Actions multiply.
Lactalis “pays only 403 euros” ($440) for 1,000 liters of milk, while its competitors pay 440 euros ($480), complained Sylvain Délye, a 50-year-old cow breeder in the Orne department (northwest), where the blockade was caused .
The Prime Minister Gabriel Attal met with the various trade unions and presented before the Assembly (Lower House) measures that could be implemented quickly, such as better compensation for farmers from the giants of the agri-food industry and distribution.
Other EU countries such as Germany, Poland, Romania and the Netherlands recorded similar protests, a move that worries Brussels as European Parliament elections approach in June.
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© 2024 AFP