The majority unions FNSEA and Young Farmers called this Thursday to suspend the blockades of farmers in France in view of the announcements of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
After Gabriel Attal’s new announcements to try to calm agricultural anger, the FNSEA and the Young Farmers (JA) called this Thursday to “suspend the blockades and enter into a new form of mobilization”.
“After consultation a few minutes ago with our two networks, (…) we consider that we need to change our mode of action and therefore we call on our networks to suspend the blockages and to enter into a new form of mobilization”, indicated the president of the JA Arnaud Gaillot, alongside the boss of the FNSEA Arnaud Rousseau, during a press conference in Paris at the headquarters of the FNSEA.
They set several conditions for not resuming the movement: “first results” by the Agricultural Show (February 24-March 3) then the adoption of an agricultural orientation and future law as well as of European measures by June. “If by the month of June, these markers are not met, we will not hesitate to re-enter a general mobilization movement,” declared Arnaud Gaillot. The two officials called for a summary document putting in writing all the government’s announcements. Before the Agricultural Show, “we have fifteen days to see if all this is serious, it’s credible, it holds water”, declared Arnaud Rousseau.
“The movement does not stop”
The head of the FNSEA for whom “the movement does not cease” but “is transformed” generally praised the Prime Minister’s “listening” to try to understand what our issues are, receive us, exchange, discuss and finally announce emergency measures in several bursts.
“At the same time, we question the deafness of Europe,” he added, referring to “the growing incomprehension between a technostructure walled in its offices in Brussels and the realities of what we experience in our exploitations”.
The appeal of the two union leaders seems in any case to have been heard by the members. On the A13 dam, near Épône-Mézières, Amandine Muret-Beguin, grain producer and member of the FDSEA Ile-de-France, explains to BFMTV that the demonstrators will “certainly break camp”. “We have a lot of promises, a lot of hope, so certainly the dam will free,” she said.