In Paris, the meeting between the government and representatives of the agricultural world this Monday lasted only two hours.
At the exit of Matignon, Arnaud Rousseau, president of the FNSEA, and Arnaud Gaillot, president of the Young Farmers, had a calm tone, but warned: there will be no lifting of field actions without concrete decisions from the executive.
After their departure, it was the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau who spoke.
He too plays the appeasement card and says he understands the anger of the agricultural world, pressed between the hammer of the crisis of confidence and the anvil of contradictory injunctions, which lack coherence.
Among the angry subjects: financial burdens that are too heavy, the gradual increase in taxation on non-road diesel (NGR), perceived as unfair, and environmental standards that weigh on their competitiveness, in the face of cheaper and lower-quality foreign imports. quality.
In Germany, the demands are essentially identical.
For several weeks, the mobilization has been organized, in particular against the reform of taxation on agricultural diesel, which provides for the elimination, from 2026, of an exemption from which the sector benefits.
Not to mention the administrative burdens which exasperate farmers.
Finally, across the Channel, British farmers face comparable difficulties.
In front of Parliament, fruit producers are protesting against large-scale retail purchasing contracts.
The sector says it is threatened, to the point that 49% of professionals are on the verge of leaving the profession.
The France 24 summary of the week
invites you to look back at the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 application