The majority unions FNSEA and Young Farmers (JA) called on Thursday February 1 to suspend blockades in France but promised to remain vigilant on the application of new measures announced shortly before by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
“We have decided that at the moment, in view of everything that has been announced (...), we need to change our modes of action and therefore we are calling on our networks (...) to suspend the blockages and enter a new form of mobilization
,” indicated the president of the JA Arnaud Gaillot, alongside the boss of the FNSEA Arnaud Rousseau, during a press conference in Paris at the headquarters of the FNSEA.
Among the conditions set for not resuming the movement:
“first results”
before the Agricultural Show (February 24-March 3) then the adoption of an agricultural orientation and future law as well as measures European countries by June.
“Deafness of Europe”
Failing this,
“we will not hesitate to re-enter a general mobilization movement
,” said Arnaud Gaillot.
Arnaud Rousseau generally praised
the Prime Minister's
“listening”
“to try to understand what our issues are, to receive us, to exchange, to discuss and finally to announce emergency measures in several bursts”
.
But
“at the same time, we question the deafness of Europe”
.
Shortly before, Gabriel Attal, for his third round of announcements in a week, listed measures which according to him meet
“a large part of the expectations”
of farmers and are
“likely”
to calm the protest.
“We want to be sovereign, sovereign to cultivate, sovereign to harvest, sovereign to feed ourselves
,” summarized Gabriel Attal, promising to include
“the objective of (food) sovereignty in the law”
and to enshrine
“in the rural code agriculture as a fundamental interest of the nation
.
Among Thursday's announcements is a strengthening of the Egalim laws which aim to prevent producers from paying the price of the fierce price war between supermarkets on the one hand, and distributors and suppliers of the agro-industry on the other.
The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire specified that
“all major supermarket chains”
will be
“controlled in the coming days”
.
“Let’s be positive”
Gabriel Attal also announced an envelope of 150 million euros in tax and social support for breeders.
Bruno Le Maire had already announced a tax exemption measure for cattle breeders in October.
But the National Bovine Federation (FNB) expressed last week an
“extremely strong disappointment”
from breeders on this subject.
To facilitate the renewal of generations, Gabriel Attal also announced the raising of the exemption thresholds on agricultural inheritances.
He pledged to relax the rules on meadows and said he wanted to prevent the importation into France of fruits and vegetables treated with the pesticide thiacloprid, banned in Europe.
The question now is whether farmers on the ground will respond to instructions, especially since many of the demonstrators are not unionized.
“The tone has changed, let’s be positive.
We finally have the impression that the Prime Minister has become aware of the issue: the tone is more solemn, more respectful towards us.
We think that we have finally been heard
,” said Michel Joux, president of the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes section of the FNSEA.
“But nothing is won, we will consult together to see what follow-up to give to the movement
,” he added.
“There is progress
,” said Nicolas Merle, president of the Young Farmers Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
“But we are attentive: the information still remains vague, we will have to refine and above all analyze in detail everything that has been said”
Gabriel Attal had received the FNSEA at length in recent days, notably Monday evening for three and a half hours then almost three hours Tuesday evening, as well as Wednesday evening.
He also received representatives of the Peasant Confederation, the third agricultural union, and the Rural Coordination, the second union, on Wednesday morning.