Agricultural fair in Paris opens with a riot

Accompanied by boos and whistles, President Macron opened the agricultural fair in France. A scuffle broke out: seven farmers were temporarily arrested and a police officer was injured.

This is not how President Emmanuel Macron had imagined it: The 60th agricultural fair was supposed to be a turning point in the crisis that has been going on for weeks: talk, pacify, look forward. Instead, a scuffle broke out between farmers and police before the gates of the salon de l’agriculture were even opened.

The president initially did not get through with his appeal for calm, which Macron was forced to make to journalists far away from the protesters on the first floor of the trade fair building. “It doesn’t help your colleagues if you destroy the exhibition stands, then no one will come anymore,” said the president. “I therefore call on everyone here to remain calm so that the trade fair can take place peacefully. After all, many farmers have put in months of work here.”

Boycott Macron’s debate

Macron had to cancel a debate that was originally planned to last several hours at the opening of the salon. Representatives of all trades involved in the production, processing and sale of agricultural products were invited. Representatives from environmental organizations should also take part. But because the Soulevement de la terre – a group known for its acts of vandalism – was also said to have been on the invitation list, the farmers boycotted Macron’s big debate.

The president was forced to change the format and instead meet with representatives of the farmer unions for an emergency breakfast. Macron denied that Soulevement de la terre was invited. “I never thought of inviting them. I even wanted to have this group banned,” he said with tears of anger in his eyes. “This story makes me so angry, you can’t imagine it. I condemn the violence of this group. I am always for calm, citizenship and respect.”

Retail chains prefer cheap imports

Visibly tense, Macron presented measures that he wanted to take in order to secure a decent income for farmers in the future. These include rock-bottom prices for agricultural products and a special budget for farmers in financial distress. The President then spent two hours in remote meeting rooms discussing with farmers who described their precarious situation to him one-on-one.

Again and again it is about unfair competition from abroad. “Our apples are rotting because the big retail chains don’t want to buy them. Instead, they import cheaper ones from abroad,” says a farmer. “We do everything we can here to comply with environmental standards. But they don’t apply to everyone around the world – and we suffer the damage.”

It’s not enough

Overall, the farmers sent contradictory signals: On the one hand, they made it more difficult to exchange ideas with the president with riots and provocations. On the other hand, they demanded that he face their situation and listen. The bottom line was that there was always one accusation: What the government is doing is not enough.

“The president hasn’t really been able to respond to our demands,” says one. “We need a delay in paying our loans, we need to be paid better for our products.”

Cheese tasting under protective measures

Amid whistles and boos, President Macron was finally able to open the fair and, protected by dozens of emergency services, taste cheese, milk and honey at the stands – and send a message to his political opponents.

“Some people here have a plan: They want to boo me today and roll out the red carpet for the head of the extreme right-wing Rassemblement National on Sunday,” Macron said, addressing his political opponents. French agriculture deserves better than the “economically stupid program” of those who support leaving the EU. “If there is no Europe, there will be no agriculture.”

From Sunday, representatives from all political parties are expected at this extremely political salon de l’agriculture.