A new round of announcements.
More than a month after the explosion of anger among farmers and three days before the opening of the Agricultural Show in Paris, Gabriel Attal spoke again this Wednesday morning, to try to calm the discontent which was not resolved. not soothe.
Alongside his ministers Marc Fesneau (Agriculture) and Christophe Béchu (Ecological Transition), the Prime Minister detailed during a press conference in Matignon the
“main orientations”
of a new agricultural bill, and presented
“the monitoring and execution”
of government measures presented on February 1.
A mine clearance operation, while the agricultural unions do not let up the pressure.
“The time for political decision”
has come, warned Tuesday evening the president of the FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau, who saw Emmanuel Macron and Gabriel Attal on Tuesday.
“Expectations are very high
,” according to the main farmers’ organization.
Local protest actions have resumed in recent days.
Like Tuesday evening, in Haute-Saône, against the global milk giant Lactalis, whose tanker truck was blocked by farmers who wanted to redistribute the milk.
Even before Gabriel Attal's press conference, the FNSEA and the Young Farmers (JA) announced that they had planned a
“procession”
in Paris on Friday evening, ending in front of the doors of the Agricultural Show.
Rural Coordination, the second union in the sector, has also planned a demonstration for Friday in Paris.
“
We will not lie, we will not betray
”
, promises Attal
“We will not lie, we will not betray
,” said the Prime Minister.
Gabriel Attal assured he heard
“the cry of anger”
from the farmers which he analyzed as a
“call to action”
.
And to list the grievances of farmers:
“multiplication of standards”
,
“overtransposition”
,
“unfair competition”
,
“remuneration”
.
“Agricultural sovereignty is our course”
, he insisted before hearing
“prove to farmers that they can believe in it by measuring the progress made”
.
Out of 62 commitments,
“
eight out of ten
”
have been successful or are about to be successful
Gabriel Attal recalled having agreed with the agricultural unions
“on a list of commitments”
.
Out of 62 commitments made at the beginning of February,
“100% of the sites have been opened
,” said the Prime Minister.
“In three weeks, we have achieved or are on the verge of doing so for eight out of ten commitments
,” he said.
Attal wants to place agriculture
“
among the fundamental interests of the nation
”
The new agricultural orientation bill
“recognizes in black and white in the law our objective of agricultural and food sovereignty, and recognizes agriculture among the fundamental interests of France
,” affirmed Gabriel Attal.
A plan for breeding
“A specific plan on livestock sovereignty is under discussion, which will recognize the contributions of livestock
,” announced the head of government.
“Reciprocal commitments will have to be made
,” he added, specifying that this plan would be
“presented at the Agricultural Show”
.
A
“
solutions conference
”
by April on collective catering
“I accept that I want us to consume more French
,” declared Gabriel Attal before announcing
“a solutions conference
, ”
“associating the State and local authorities
. ”
This must be
“brought together by the ministers”
in April in order to
“accelerate collective catering”
.
99.6% of
CAP
“
basic aid
” has already been paid
Gabriel Attal announced that
“99.61% of basic CAP aid”
has already been paid to farmers, with the objective of 100% by March 15.
“In 2015, at this same time, 0% of payments had taken place and the payment had been made one year late
,” explained the head of government from Matignon.
Attal wants to
“
facilitate
”
the arrival of foreign seasonal workers on French farms
Faced with recruitment tensions, Gabriel Attal announced that a decree recognizing agricultural production as a
“sector in tension”
would be published during the Agricultural Show, in order to
“greatly facilitate the allocation of visas”
to bring in workers. foreign seasonal workers on French farms.
The Prime Minister also announced that the exemption from employer contributions on
“almost all seasonal agricultural jobs”
– the TO-DE system – would be made permanent and reinforced
“from the year 2024”
.
Pesticides: abandonment of the current indicator for the European indicator
Gabriel Attal agreed with the farmers, announcing - as they had requested - the abandonment of the indicator that France currently uses to measure the reduction in the use of pesticides, for the European indicator.
“I am announcing to you that the reference indicator for monitoring our objective of reducing phytosanitary products will no longer be the Franco-French Nodu but the European indicator.
This is in line with our desire to avoid any overtransposition.
It was the farmers' request
,” declared Gabriel Attal, while affirming that he did not want to
“give up on (the) ambition to reduce the use of pesticides by 50% by 2030”
.
Gabriel Attal announces a new bill to
“
strengthen
”
the Egalim system by the summer
If the Egalim law
“is a source of French pride”
for the Prime Minister,
“it must be improved and strengthened
,” he said.
Gabriel Attal recalled the launch of a parliamentary mission entrusted to two majority deputies Alexis Izard (Renaissance) and Anne-Laure Babault (MoDem) in order to propose by the end of the summer an evolution of the system by 'summer.
The head of government insisted on three issues:
“the construction of prices”
,
“the place of production cost indicators”
and
“European purchasing centers”
.
Protecting farmers from unfair competition
“
I want to remind you that the President of the Republic was extremely firm regarding the Mercosur free trade treaty
,” said the Prime Minister.
“
We will fight product by product.
If it is prohibited for our farmers, it should not enter our country
,” argued Gabriel Attal.
“
I have asked the European Commission to ban all imports of agricultural products containing thiacloprid
,” indicated the Prime Minister, who must issue an order this Friday to ban the import of products containing this neonicotinoid banned since 2020 in the European Union.
Two European purchasing centers targeted by
“
pre-fines
”
of several tens of millions of euros
Two European mass distribution purchasing centers which have not complied with the Egalim law are targeted by
“pre-fines”
amounting to several
“tens of millions of euros”
, which they have two months to contest , announced the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire on Wednesday, following Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
French origin of products: 1000 establishments inspected, 372 non-compliant
Furthermore, Bruno Le Maire also took stock of controls regarding the French origin of products.
In total, 1,000 establishments were inspected, and 372 were non-compliant.
“I will notify the first reports in the coming days,” indicated the Minister of the Economy, recalling that the criminal sanction could “reach 10% of the turnover of the companies concerned”.