The new Prime Minister is trying to calm the discontent of farmers.

Traveling in the Rhône, Gabriel Attal declared, Saturday January 20, that he wanted to "guarantee farmers that they can make a living from their work", in the face of the anger of the latter who are protesting against the precariousness of their activity.

Agriculture is "an absolutely major subject (...) which I take very seriously", immediately affirmed the new head of government from Saint-Laurent-d'Agny.

Almost at the same time, 600 km away, the president of the RN, Jordan Bardella, head of the list in the European elections of June 9, was with a dairy farmer in Queyrac (Gironde).

He denounced "Macron's Europe" which wants, according to him, "the death of our agriculture" put in competition "with agricultural products which come from the ends of the world, which do not respect any of the ever harsher and ever more stringent standards. heavier than those imposed on French farmers.

The head of the RN list in the European elections denounced the policies supported by the French government and the European Commission, accused of "leading to the collapse of our agriculture".

Received in Matignon on Friday, Jordan Bardella took the opportunity to warn the Prime Minister against the discontent of the agricultural world and call for a "state of emergency" on the subject.

Increase in farmer demonstrations in France and Europe

In France, the discontent of farmers has been heard for several weeks and farmers have threatened a nationwide movement in the coming weeks, under the leadership of the FNSEA, the leading French agricultural union.

In the southwest of France, on Saturday, French farmers continued the blockade of the A64 motorway between Toulouse and Tarbes, blocked for three days, and blocked the RN20 in Ariège, disrupting traffic.

The movement of anger is also spreading in Europe, notably in Germany, Romania, Poland and the Netherlands, where farmers intend to express their exasperation in the face of growing insecurity.

The government ready to talk to farmers

On BFM TV, Arnaud Rousseau, president of the FNSEA, called for “concrete actions from the government” and “profound long-term changes”. 

As of Friday, Emmanuel Macron asked the prefects to go this weekend to meet farmers to discuss “the issues that they express as close as possible to the field,” the Élysée said.

From the Rhône, Saturday, Gabriel Attal wanted to send a message to these farmers.

The head of the executive promised to “ensure that throughout the chain, with large-scale distribution, consumers, etc., there can be a fair share for farmers”.

"There are laws which were passed in the previous mandate, Egalim 1, Egalim 2, other texts of law which have allowed, I think, a certain amount of progress but I know that there are difficulties of "application on certain measures", declared the Prime Minister.

Earlier, Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, announced that the State was going to "increase controls" on compliance with the Egalim law, during a meeting with wine growers in the Marne.

Gabriel Attal also announced that he would receive, on Monday, in Matignon, representatives of the FNSEA, the first agricultural union, and the president of the Young Farmers.

The Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, another member of the government on the ground, declared that a law to simplify administrative procedures for farmers could arrive in the spring, during a trip to the Cher department to meet the professional agricultural organizations in Vierzon.

“Simplification is a serious subject (...) The Prime Minister, the president and Bruno Le Maire with whom we spoke about it, we are on a subject in the spring,” he declared in front of journalists .

With Reuters

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