Agricultural lobby threatens to unleash protests ahead of French government talks

Paris — French farmers’ representatives threatened to expand protests on Monday before a meeting with the government to address anger over price pressures, taxes and green regulation — grievances that are shared by farmers across Europe.            

“There is a general feeling of being fed up,” Arnaud Gaillot, the head of the Young Farmers (Jeunes Agriculteurs) union told France 2 television, after farmers blocked roads in parts of France last week, in action similar to widespread protests by farmers in Germany.

“I think that at this moment, as long as I don’t have the answers, I’d have a hard time explaining to them that they need to leave [the protests],” he said.

Farmers cite a government tax on tractor fuel, cheap imports, water storage issues, price pressures from retailers and red tape among their grievances.

President Emmanuel Macron is wary of farmers’ growing support for the far-right ahead of European Parliament elections in June. The government has put a draft farming law on hold, saying it wanted to hear from farming representatives first to include additional measures to support the sector.

France’s largest farm union FNSEA has said it is considering nationwide protests in the coming weeks. In a sign that the movement is accelerating, FNSEA head Arnaud Rousseau told France Inter radio on Monday: “Starting today, during the whole week and for as long as necessary, a certain number of actions will be organised.”

Shortly afterwards, farmers announced they would block roads leading to the Golfech nuclear plant in the southwest.

Farming policy has always been a sensitive issue in France, the EU’s biggest agricultural producer, with thousands of independent producers of wine, meat and dairy products. Farmers have a track record of disruptive protests.

Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National, travelled to the western Gironde region to voice support for farmers and France’s agricultural heritage. “Farmers are part of our identity and I refuse to let them die,” Bardella told reporters on Saturday.

Many farmers say their livelihoods are threatened as food retailers step up pressure to bring down prices after a phase of high inflation.

Fearing a spillover from farmer protests in Germany, Poland and Romania, the government has withdrawn a draft farming law planned for debate this week and invited farming representatives for talks, which were due to start on Monday afternoon.

Farmer leaders Gaillot and Rousseau said they would seek assurances from Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and farming minister Marc Fesneau that a special law aimed at keeping farming revenues stable would be better enforced.

Gaillot also called for a regulatory pause, saying bureaucracy is eating up too much of farmers’ time and that regulations aimed at cutting carbon emissions are “too much”.

“We could be on the eve of a big farmers’ movement if there are no answers. Our European neighbours, with whom we are in touch, are calling us,” he added.

Fesneau told newspaper Midi Libre on Monday the draft law is still planned to be tabled during the first half of this year, after amendments including measures to cut red tape.

The minister visited an irrigation storage project in the western Vendee department on Monday and said the government had listened to farmers’ calls to ease restrictions on water use, a controversial issue as water becomes scarce in summer.

“This is also to show that we are working on things, even though this may seem like it’s taking a long time ... There certainly is a need to speed up processes,” he told reporters.

Reuters