On the sidelines of an eventful Agricultural Show, Emmanuel Macron spoke for the first time of his wish to establish
“an indicator in each sector”
.
It
“must be built and it must serve as a floor price to guarantee agricultural income”
.
“The objective that I set for the work that was launched by the Prime Minister is to achieve these floor prices which will make it possible to protect agricultural income and not to give in to all the most predatory practices which sacrifice our farmers and their income. today
,” added the head of state who is debating away from the event with farmers' union organizations.
This proposal for a minimum price has been at the heart of professionals' demands for several weeks.
“We are talking about a need to improve the very heart of the Egalim law, namely working on prices
,” Laurence Marandola, spokesperson for the Confédération Paysanne, told franceinfo.
Classified on the left, this agricultural union demands the establishment of a minimum price
“which covers production costs and the remuneration of producers”
.
“I understand that this is shocking, it is a real break with liberalization.
But Spain does it, why not us?
, asked
Parisian
Laurence Marandola.
Also readSébastien Abis: “The farmer is not on the periphery of the world, he is at the center”
A system “out of breath”
Large retailers have also advocated for this initiative, like Michel Biero, president of Lidl.
This week, he suggested
“a guaranteed minimum price for milk, for pork, for beef”
in order to
“protect the agricultural world”
.
“If we all sit around the table, we can define a time and for example say that in the next three months, we can no longer buy a liter of milk for less than 46 cents, bought today for around 40- 41 cents for the farmer, that’s not enough
,” he said on BFMTV on Wednesday.
“The farmer doesn't care how much I sell per liter of milk, he just wants to make a living from his work.”
But
“without collective will”
,
“the legislator must intervene”
.
Dominique Schelcher, CEO of Système U, already highlighted several possible solutions at the end of January, such as the removal of certain clauses in the Egalim law, a change in the system of negotiations with manufacturers
“at the end of their rope”
or even the multiplication of tripartite contracts , with the presence of farmers.
The latter are actually not present during commercial negotiations between distributors and manufacturers.
“We don’t know the farmer behind”
the products, admitted Michel Biero.
Politicians have also taken up the subject, such as Aurélie Trouvée, a rebellious MP, who plans to re-submit
“a bill for remunerative floor prices for farmers”
.
Last November, his party had already presented a similar text, rejected by six votes.
Green MP Marie Pochon also announced the tabling of a bill
“aimed at establishing minimum purchase prices for agricultural products”
.
It remains to be seen whether Emmanuel Macron will follow through on his promises to preserve farmers' income.