• 9:41 a.m.: the president of the Salon de l’agriculture expects “manly” exchanges with Macron

The president of the Salon de l'agriculture, Jean-Luc Poulain, expects "virile" exchanges on Saturday during Emmanuel Macron's uncertain inaugural visit, with the boss of the majority union FNSEA refusing to participate in the debate organized by the Élysée.

"It's going to be a show of explanations, a show that could be a little manly – we can be manly but correct – because the agricultural world immediately needs precise answers on 'What do we do, when?'", he told AFP.

  • 9:24 a.m.: the invitation to the Earth Uprisings was “inopportune”, judge Marc Fesneau

The Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, deemed Emmanuel Macron's proposal to the Soulèvements de la Terre collective to participate in the major debate he is organizing on the future of agriculture on Saturday "inappropriate". 

“I consider that it was an invitation which was inappropriate given the context,” reacted the minister on TF1.

The Earth Uprisings constitute “a collective whose model of expression is rather the Molotov cocktail”, he judged, “So we do not discuss with these people”. 

Also read: Emmanuel Macron facing farmers: how to bring together contradictory interests?

  • 9:05 a.m.: the executive “understood nothing” about the “problems” of farmers, accuses the president of the FNSEA

The president of the FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau, confirmed that he would not participate in the debate at the Agricultural Show organized by Emmanuel Macron, judging that his invitation to the Earth Uprisings showed that he had "understood nothing about the problems" of farmers. 

“It sends the image back to farmers that ultimately nothing has been understood about their problems,” he said during an interview on BFM TV/RMC.

“I will not be the actor in something that I consider particularly cynical and which does not allow dialogue in good conditions.”

  • 8:45 a.m.: a snail’s operation on the Paris ring road

Snail operation by farmers this morning on the Paris ring road.

After a snail operation on the Paris ring road, farmers blocked by the CRS in the middle of the Haussmann buildings of the capital @RTLFrance pic.twitter.com/8vtKitTNCL

— Pereira Arthur (@PereiraArthur7) February 23, 2024

  • 3:50 a.m.: before the opening of the Agricultural Show, first hiccup around the debate desired by Emmanuel Macron

Under pressure from farmers, still unsatisfied by the promises and actions of the government, Emmanuel Macron is preparing to visit the Agricultural Show in a tense climate, Saturday, after having wanted to invite the Uprisings of the Earth to a major debate with the agricultural world, arousing the anger of the unions.

“The invitation by the PR (President of the Republic, Editor's note) to the #SIA of a small group whose dissolution was requested by its own government is an unacceptable provocation for farmers. I had agreed to participate in a debate. In these conditions, I refuse to take part in what will only be a charade,” declared the boss of the first agricultural union, Arnaud Rousseau, on X Thursday evening.

He was quickly joined by his counterpart from the Young Farmers, Arnaud Gaillot.

The invitation by the PR to the #SIA of a small group whose dissolution was requested by its own GVT is an unacceptable provocation for farmers.

I agreed to participate in a debate.

Under these conditions, I refuse to take part in what will only be…

— Arnaud Rousseau (@rousseautrocy) February 22, 2024

The backpedaling was initiated by the Élysée an hour later with the announcement that the collective, once described as "eco-terrorist" by Gérald Darmanin, was finally no longer invited "to guarantee the serenity of the debates".

But the damage was done and the opposition sharply criticized the executive's choice. 

At the end of the afternoon, the Élysée announced its intention to organize a debate, an unprecedented format for the visit of a head of state to the Agricultural Show (which is to take place from February 24 to March 3), between Emmanuel Macron and “all stakeholders in the agricultural world”.

With AFP

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