A total of 134 French people drawn by lot are expected this weekend in Paris for the resumption of the "
great national debate on agriculture
" suspended since the confinement, which should serve to define the position of France in the negotiations of the future Common Agricultural Policy.
Read also: One year later, what happened to the promises of the great debate?
On the model of citizens' conventions, participants are chosen according to their region, their age group and their social level by a specialist service provider responsible for representing "
the diversity and significance
" of the French population.
They will debate Saturday and Sunday after a welcome Friday evening by three ministers and several specialists to fix the terms of the debate.
Their travel and accommodation are taken care of by the organizing national commission for public debate (CNDP).
Six of the 140 people initially planned have withdrawn due to the epidemic, said the CNDP.
The assembly has 55 women and 79 men.
Two farmers will participate alongside 36 "
executives and intellectual professions
", 29 employees, 21 "
intermediate professions
", 19 artisans traders, 16 students, nine workers, two people without a label and none inactive.
They will return the conclusions of their discussions on Sunday evening.
During the first phase of this great debate, started on February 23 and suspended on April 3, more than 9,500 contributions were recorded on the participatory platform According to Internet users who participated in the online consultation, the three priority objectives of the future PAC should be: sustainably manage natural resources, protect biodiversity, landscapes and ecosystems, and fight and adapt to climate change.
None of the ten choices proposed related to the initial ambition of the European agricultural policy which entered into force in 1962, namely to produce sufficient quantities of healthy food at an affordable price to feed the entire population.
But a debate on the theme of “
food sovereignty
” was nevertheless added to the program.
It will take place on October 20 in Angoulême.
Two of the 11 regional debates have already taken place: on September 11, in Châlons-en-Champagne, on “
agricultural models
” and on September 18 in Saint-Lô on “
natural resources and agriculture
”.
The other nine will take place by the end of October, at the rate of one per region, instead of the two initially planned, the program having been lightened by the health crisis.
The next one, in Forcalquier (PACA) on September 30, will look at the question "
how to cohabit in the countryside
".
