President Emmanuel Macron, who will inaugurate the Salon de l'Agriculture on Saturday, affirmed that he "will not tolerate (t) any violence against farmers", in an interview in the regional daily press (PQR), put in line Thursday. "Today we feel a strong tension in society and we must both protect farmers from the stigma they face and successfully transform the agricultural model," said the head of state in several newspapers. PQR ( Ouest France , La Voix du Nord , the EBRA group ...).
Food law "begins to produce effects"
"The tensions are felt on animal husbandry and animal welfare, on agriculture and the use of pesticides. I will not tolerate any violence against farmers," he said. Asked about glyphosate, whose ban in 2021 worries the agricultural world, the head of state warned that this "2021 target will not be tenable on all farms". On this subject, "I have always indicated that we would not leave farmers without solutions. The government contacted ANSES and INRA to identify viable alternatives and to organize an exit of glyphosate on objective bases", a he recalled.
He also said that the Food Law, which promises to remunerate farmers according to their production costs, "is starting to have an impact. The key to all of this is building indicators and then organizing dialogue in the sector. It also presupposes that all the actors in the chain are responsible. I salute Lidl for example, who contracts, gives price and visibility. "
"They are not tender, me either, that's good"
"We have multiplied the checks. Result: 4 million euros in fines have been imposed on distributors for non-compliance with the rules. We have assigned Leclerc. The great difficulty that we encounter is those who try to circumvent the law with their central purchasing in Belgium or elsewhere. They are not tender, me either, that's good, "he said.
Asked about the customs duties that may increase after Brexit, he warned: "We cannot accept a model where Great Britain decides to diverge on the regulatory level, to do social and environmental dumping. I want to tell our fishermen that I will fight for them. If we do not get the same access as today, we will seek compensation. I will not let our fishermen be affected by the British vote which they can do nothing about. "