The Court of Auditors' report 'on public support for cattle farmers' continues to be talked about. Published yesterday, it recommends a 'significant reduction' of French livestock to meet the French Federation's commitments to reduce methane emissions. Enough to arouse the ire of French farmers... and the surprise of the institution's first president. "I jumped a little too, I admit," acknowledged Pierre Moscovici, guest in the morning of France Inter this Thursday.
Underlining his surprise at reading the auditors' recommendation, the number one of the Court of Auditors wanted to clarify the role of the institution. "The Court is not a power ... but an independent institution that feeds public debate. We make expert reports that can be discussed. This report must be taken as a contribution to the debate," Moscovici said. In an attempt to calm the controversies, the representative recalled that "the report also stresses the indispensability of cattle breeding, good for the soil, good for sovereignty, and good for employment".
'No hostility from the Court'
Since the publication of the report, several political figures have come to the rescue of the herders. In a tweet published Tuesday evening, Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau sharply criticized the conclusions of the Sages, without ever explicitly mentioning the institution. "We can never move forward by stigmatizing and giving as the only perspective to an entire profession the popular vindictiveness and disappearance," he said. The president of the FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau, described as "real injury" the burden of the Court towards farmers.
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There is no hostility of the Court to cattle breeding," Moscovici replied. The former socialist economy minister expressed his empathy for livestock farmers. "I want to tell farmers that I understand their emotions and that I share them," he said, before offering farmers to "meet with him to discuss the report." Beyond the agricultural case, the controversy is a lesson for the institution: "The Court of Auditors must also take better account of social concerns in the future," concluded the senior official.
