The arrival of Gabriel Attal will not have completely calmed things down.
The FNSEA and the Young Farmers, after questioning their members, took “the decision to continue this mobilization”, declared Friday the president of the FNSEA Arnaud Rousseau on TF1.
“What was said this evening does not calm the anger, we must go further,” he said, believing that the Prime Minister’s announcements, intended to appease farmers, were “too fair”.
To the head of government, “we are offering to meet him tomorrow morning,” added the head of the organization which, together with the JA, is the majority union in the profession.
On certain points, such as non-road diesel, announcements “go in the right direction”.
But overall "they do not answer all of the questions we ask ourselves", said Arnaud Rousseau, citing in particular the problems linked to Ukraine, the "overtransposition" in France of European environmental standards and the retirement of farmers.
A “difficult but necessary decision”
Continuing the mobilization is “a difficult but necessary decision,” declared Arnaud Rousseau.
The message is the same from the Young Farmers, also present in the mobilization.
“The watchword is to continue the mobilization,” insisted President Arnaud Gaillot, on BFM TV.
“A whole bunch of answers are missing, on food sovereignty, this superposition of environmental standards, on the installation, the attractiveness of the profession,” added the representative, who expressed the “disappointment” of the operators after the announcements by Gabriel Attal.
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However, the message was not quite the same on the ground, where the Prime Minister went this Friday evening.
Alongside farmers who welcomed Gabriel Attal on the emblematic A64 dam, breeder Jérôme Bayle thanked the head of government for having “respected” the profession.
He also greeted his colleagues mobilized on the blockages.
“I wanted to personally thank you all, we have been here for 7-8 days, we have worked and we have shown that farmers have values.
(…) I think you can be proud of yourself, and frankly, if I didn’t break down, it’s because in your determination, I knew that you wouldn’t let me go,” he added.