Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: DAMIEN MEYER / AFP 3:34 p.m., February 21, 2024
To denounce the practices of the giant of the dairy industry and demand better remuneration for breeders, some 200 angry demonstrators entered the Lactalis headquarters in Laval this Wednesday, at the call of the Confédération paysanne. Helped by two tractors, the demonstrators managed to force entry to the site.
Some 200 angry demonstrators entered the Lactalis headquarters in Laval on Wednesday, at the call of the Confédération paysanne, to denounce the practices of the giant of the dairy industry and demand better remuneration for breeders, noted a journalist from the 'AFP. Aided by two tractors, the demonstrators managed to force entry to the site and took over the reception hall of the headquarters, covering the premises with stickers proclaiming "Our profession has a price. Lactalis, return the money hidden in the tax heavens".
“Lactalis kills”
“Lactalis, predator of value” and “Lactalis kills”, read the signs. “Lactalis is the world number one in milk which is not able to pay its producers correctly,” Laurence Marandola, national spokesperson for the Confédération Paysanne, told journalists from the reception of the agro-industrial group. . “Lactalis is the global and national emblem of companies that prey on our work, the price of our products and the work of farmers,” she added.
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“There are so many profits that do not trickle down to producers and breeders, it’s an absolute scandal,” said the head of the agricultural union, accusing Lactalis of “enslaving practices” and of inflicting “retaliation” on all the breeders who publicly protest against his methods by refusing to collect their milk. “They cannot speak, the Lactalis breeders,” she said.
28 billion euros in turnover in 2022
Asked about the announcements made in the morning by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, Laurence Marandola judged that the new version of the Egalim law, supposed to guarantee farmers an income taking into account their production costs, could not wait until this summer. “The priority of priorities cannot wait until summer. If in two weeks we can resolve questions about phytosanitary products, why could we not in a few weeks adopt a law that protects the income of farmers,” said she said.
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And Gabriel Attal "did not guarantee a minimum price which would cover our remuneration and our production costs", she criticized. With more than 28 billion euros in turnover in 2022, Lactalis has dethroned another juggernaut, Danone, as the French leader in the agri-food industry and entered the world's top 10 in the sector. The group, which celebrated its 90th anniversary in October, has 270 production sites in 51 countries and 85,000 employees. Its products, whose packaging bears no mention of Lactalis, are marketed in 150 countries.