After the fiasco of the organization of a “big debate” by the Elysée on the occasion of the Agricultural Show, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron arrived on site this Saturday, February 24 in the morning, in a context of great tension. Dozens of demonstrators, according to AFP, forced a gate to enter the premises before time.
Information to remember
⇒ After clashes upon his arrival, Emmanuel Macron calls for “the Show to go well”
⇒ The president wants to recognize agriculture and food “as a major general interest” in the law
⇒ The opening of the Show to the general public has been delayed
Great debate: Macron says he “never thought” of inviting Earth Uprisings
Emmanuel Macron claimed to have “never thought of initiating” an invitation to the radical environmentalist collective Earth Uprisings for a major debate on the first day of the Agricultural Show, news which had angered farmers and triggered a boycott of the majority union.
“I completely deny this information. Totally. I never thought of initiating such an invitation. And you are talking to the President of the Republic who took it upon himself to have the dissolution of the Earth Uprising passed through the Council of Ministers,” he said. -he declared to journalists. “This whole thing has made me so angry you can’t imagine […] It makes no sense”.
Agriculture and food soon to be “major general interest”?
Emmanuel Macron wants to recognize agriculture and food in law “as a major general interest” of France, he indicated during his visit to the Agricultural Show. The president also announced that the agricultural bill, postponed several times, will be presented to the council of ministers on March 20, and that he will hold a meeting with “all trade union organizations” in three weeks at the Elysée. “We need to show recognition, respect, pride for the agricultural model and for our farmers,” he detailed, recognizing in the current anger a triple crisis “of income, confidence and recognition ” of the agricultural world.
Emmanuel Macron calls for the “Exhibition to go well”
“We will not respond in a few hours to this agricultural crisis […] and the Agricultural Show is an important moment for our farmers, so this Show must go well”, called Emmanuel Macron during a press point after a meeting with agricultural unions.
The organizers “delay” the opening of the Show
The organizers of the Agricultural Show told AFP this Saturday that they were “delaying” the opening of the Agricultural Show, without giving a timetable. Shortly before, they had indicated that they hoped to partially open the doors to the public, after clashes between the police and demonstrators. They envisage that “places will remain inaccessible” to the public, in particular pavilion 1 – that of cows, sheep, pigs and goats – where hundreds of farmers converged before the official opening of the event at the exhibition center in the Porte de Versailles in Paris.
The event, the largest show in France which expects 600,000 visitors over nine days, usually opens its doors at 9 a.m. According to a source at the Paris police headquarters, the organizers are considering delaying this opening by half an hour.
Tensions upon the arrival of Emmanuel Macron
The president arrived around 8 a.m. at the Agricultural Show to meet with trade unions. He was greeted by “Macron resignation” and “give it back” protesters inside the Porte de Versailles exhibition center.
At the same time, activists from the FNSEA, Young Farmers and Rural Coordination unions forced a gate and burst into the compound, AFP journalists noted. Some, carrying whistles, rushed into the main entrance. Clashes broke out between demonstrators and members of the Salon security service. CRS were forced to intervene to try to restore calm, given the confusion and tension.
“We did not want Macron to enter without having given his vision for agriculture over 20 years. We have been waiting for answers for 22 days and we do not have the beginning of an answer, it is unacceptable,” said a demonstrator, Jean Lefevre, a FNSEA farmer from Oise, told AFP. “I’m not surprised by what’s happening. We said it, we warned. It’s obvious that it was going to happen like that,” he added about the tensions.
Macron cancels his big debate: story of a debacle
The head of state wanted to take the initiative again with a formula already tested with the yellow vests. The hiccup with the Earth Uprisings and the refusal of the FNSEA revealed the emptiness of the exercise.
Total improvisation? Excessive pride in wanting to bring enemies together around the same table? Lack of understanding of the extent of agricultural anger? A mix of all three, no doubt. By deciding to invite the Earth Uprisings to the “great debate” planned to open the 60th International Agricultural Show, Saturday morning February 24, the Elysée immediately ruined its initiative…
Read our story again >> Agricultural Show, Macron cancels the big debate: story of a debacle
The president of the FNSEA will “listen to what the president has to tell us”
The president of the majority union FNSEA declared this Saturday morning that he wanted to “listen to what the president has to say to us” on the first day of the Agricultural Show “in a form of respect for the framework”, even “if it sometimes risks be a little tense.” “We want to look ahead, we want to listen to what the President of the Republic has to tell us about his vision of agriculture and the way in which he intends to carry out the ambition of this sector which has been sending him messages for months “, declared Arnaud Rousseau to the press upon his arrival in front of the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris.
“What I want is for it to be done in a form of respect for the framework,” added the boss of the FNSEA. “Even if it sometimes risks being a little tense, we still need to be able to get the message across. And to get messages across, there needs to be a dialogue,” he said. completed. “We are waiting for very clear answers, a very clear vision. He has all the keys in hand to provide answers. It’s up to him to play, it’s up to him to give this agriculture a real direction again,” added his counterpart from the Allied Youth union. farmers (JA), Arnaud Gaillot.