French farmers are demonstrating against the lack of resources and the restrictions targeting the profession.
Will the anger of farmers be as strong as that of the yellow vests? The movement launched several days ago, at the call of the unions, is gaining considerable momentum. The first blockages of the highways, particularly in the southwest, are viewed with kindness and understanding by the French. Alongside trucks lined up one behind the other, clumps of straw piled up to form a dam, farmers benefit instead from the support of motorists and local residents as reported Toulouse News and the demonstrators themselves to the media.
The FNSEA is calling for the “urgent release of the envelopes promised by the State”, “the rehabilitation of the consumption tax exemption rate on energy products” and not to modify irrigation authorizations. According to Christiane Lambert, president of the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organizations of the European Union, farmers who already have to deal with climate disruption, the surge in their production costs and the commercial consequences of the war in Ukraine, have the feeling of “being imposed” measures that are too drastic, particularly in the context of the ecological transition, reports West France.
Competition, standards, ecological transition…. Angry farmers
Also pointed out is “the enactment of rules and standards that are increasingly burdensome to supporters”, as Etienne Gangneron, president of the Cher Chamber of Agriculture, reported to AFP.
Farmers also express their dissatisfaction and their fear that the “EU Green Deal”, which aims to halve the use of chemical phytosanitary products by 2030, will leave them without solutions for cultivating land at low costs. Especially since according to the FNSEA, there is “unfair competition” from foreign farmers who export to the EU without being held to such demanding standards.
“The cost of energy has exploded, the costs of inputs have increased, as have those of labor and animal feed,” added Christiane Lambert, president of the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organizations, to AFP. of the European Union. For farmers’ unions, the increase in production costs is not taken into account by manufacturers in their commercial negotiations
The anger of French farmers was first relayed in the media when signs were reversed in many rural communities. A way of saying that “#We walk on our heads”, a slogan repeated everywhere. The blocking of the A6 motorway and the rallies in front of administrations last weekend gave further visibility to the movement.
“I can tell you that from today and throughout the week and for as long as it is necessary, a certain number of actions will be carried out,” said Arnaud Rousseau, the president of the FNSEA, this Monday, January 22 on France Inter.
These demonstrations are part of a broader movement of anger. These actions are increasing “all over Europe, particularly in Romania, the Netherlands and Germany”.