At the Agricultural Show, Macron protects the rural world in the face of upheaval
French President Emmanuel Macron at the International Agricultural Show during the opening day in Paris, Saturday February 25, 2023. AP - Aurelien Morissard
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The big annual meeting of farmers and breeders opened its doors this Saturday morning February 25 in Paris.
The Agricultural Show will last until March 5, but for the opening day, French President Emmanuel Macron is present and is due to spend the day there.
Advertisement
Read more
With our special correspondents Porte de Versailles,
Valérie Gas
and
Richard Riffoneau
Emmanuel Macron began his stroll around 9:30 a.m. this morning, but he had arrived earlier to meet with representatives of the fishing industry behind closed doors;
a discussion and an appetizer directly with a tasting of oysters.
The president then cut the cord to inaugurate the show and paid a visit to the muse cow, a salers named Ovalie, who sits majestically in her box at the entrance.
This morning, Emmanuel Macron talked a lot about meat, milk, he listened, answered and he was challenged, for example on the question of relay antennas which have effects on the health of livestock and kill animals.
► To read also:
At the Paris Agricultural Show, Emmanuel Macron faced with the concerns of the sector
Emmanuel Macron, after his meeting with members of the fishing industry, at the 59th Agricultural Show in Paris on February 25, 2023. AFP - LUDOVIC MARIN
Retreats come to the show
And then, at the turn of a stand, Emmanuel Macron was overtaken by pensions, a few demonstrators held up signs bearing the inscription: "Metro, job, cellar, 64 years old, it's dead".
The president continued on his way, but then answered a question on this reform which did not pass: "
I was at Rungis and I was also able to express myself on pensions
, moreover, each time with this desire to convince, to explain that basically our pay-as-you-go system must be saved.
We cannot take purchasing power away from workers, we cannot lower the pensions of retirees, so there is only one solution, which is to work more.
This "work more" must be done taking into account long careers, hardship, but it is also the key to producing more wealth, and having a good social model.
»
Work is now the keyword for Emmanuel Macron and this day at the Agricultural Show should allow him to talk about it.
► To read also: organic farmers and industrialists are sounding the alarm against inflation
Fuels: aid for fishermen extended until October
President Emmanuel Macron announced this Saturday the extension, until October, of the financial aid granted to fishermen to cope with the rise in fuel prices and which was to expire in mid-May, the press told the press. Secretary of State for the Sea Hervé Berville.
The President of the Republic is committed to "
protecting the fishing industry, in the name of French food sovereignty
", declared to AFP the president of the national fishing committee, Olivier Le Nezet, at the end of the meeting. .
This support takes the form first of all of an extension of
the "fuel aid
" which "
remains at 20 centimes (excluding tax) per liter of diesel until the end of October
" and by the establishment of a "
contract sector strategy
” expected in October, he said.
The extension of this aid for fuel is a way of "
giving visibility
" to the fishing sector, "
pending the conclusion of the strategic sector contract between all the actors
", specified Mr. Berville, who accompanied the president .
The cost of this fuel aid is "
about 2.5 million euros per month
", he added, stressing that France was today the "
only country that supports its fishing professionals
at this level .
In mid-February, Hervé Berville had announced an extension of this boost, but with decreasing aid, reduced from 20 to 10 cents by mid-May.
This aid had been put in place by the previous government of Jean Castex as part of the “
resilience plan
” aimed at helping companies cope with the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine.
While it was originally due to expire at the end of July, it has therefore already been extended several times.
(with
AFP
)
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Agriculture and Fishing
Economic crisis
France
Employment and Labor
Emmanuel Macron