French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has told French farmers their “cry from the bottom of their hearts” has been heard as he announced details of new laws to support what he described as “the people who feed us”.
Specifically, Mr. Attal pledged to tighten laws to ensure fair prices for farmers along with other measures as he sought to fulfill his promise to address their concerns after weeks of nationwide farmer protests.
France's youngest prime minister also stressed that the new law would place “agriculture among the fundamental national interests, like our security or defense.”
“All over Europe, in France, farmers are expressing their anger,” Mr. Attal said at a news conference in Paris on February 21. “This is a reminder that there is no country without farmers, there is no France without agriculture.”
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal speaks at a press conference at the Matignon Hotel in Paris on February 21, 2024. Photo: RFI
Farmers in the European Union's (EU) top agricultural powerhouse have taken to the streets to protest rising costs, strict regulations and cheap imports.
They are part of a broader movement around the world. While some local grievances vary, the farmers’ protests in France and other European countries have exposed tensions over the impact on agriculture of the European Union’s efforts to combat climate change and Ukraine’s opening up to cheap imports to help Kiev’s war effort.
French farmers lifted blockades on highways across the country in early February after Prime Minister Attal offered a series of concessions, which government spokeswoman Prisca Thevenot said would cost the state more than 400 million euros ($433 million) this year.
Union leaders warned they wanted to see concrete government action before the annual Paris agricultural fair opens this weekend.
As one of the world's largest shows, the Paris International Agricultural Exhibition (Salon de l'Agriculture), which runs from February 24 to March 3, is a key event on the Western European country's political agenda as officials seize the opportunity to appear close to farmers.
Ahead of the event, Prime Minister Attal outlined new commitments on February 21 to prevent a resurgence of protests. These include a draft law by the summer to update existing laws to set fair prices for food producers and retailers, cut inheritance taxes and social security contributions for farmers, and speed up subsidy payments. The French government will also change the way it measures pesticide use.
A French farmer drives a tractor on the A9 motorway during a protest against price pressures, January 29, 2024. Photo: RTE
The financial impact of the new commitments will only be known in the coming months, spokeswoman Thevenot told reporters on Feb. 21. At the same time, the French government is also trying to find ways to cut spending by 10 billion euros this year to meet its goal of narrowing the budget deficit as growth remains sluggish.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said at a press conference on February 21 that he was getting tougher on companies that do not comply with existing pricing regulations, adding that 1,400 inspections had been carried out on the 200 largest food producers and five leading supermarket retailers in the past two weeks.
Two European-focused shopping malls face fines of tens of millions of euros for failing to comply with French law , he said.
Minh Duc (According to Bloomberg, Agriland, Reuters)
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