They had planned to“starve Paris”. But some of the farmers, determined to lay siege to the capital to demonstrate their rage towards the authorities and the townspeople, turned back on the evening of Thursday 1er February, with the feeling of having been “heard” by the government. Around 8:30 p.m., the convoy of tractors, which left Agen to block the Rungis international market (Val-de-Marne), set off again towards the South-West.
On the A89 motorway, the blockage in the Rhône was lifted. On the A7, in Isère, the road was in the process of being cleared, while the A6 was to be freed at midday on Friday. In the west of the country, most of the blockages ended, following the call of the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions (FNSEA) and Young Farmers (JA). “The atmosphere is rather favorable”we whispered at Matignon.
Fifteen days after the start of a spontaneous, diffuse and protean peasant revolt, a symptom of the deep malaise felt by the profession, the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, hoped to have contained the movement before it flared up. The second round of measures, after a first series announced on Friday January 26, hit the mark, this time, with the powerful FNSEA, even if it meant angering environmentalists.
During a press conference orchestrated Thursday after hours of talks with farmers’ representatives, the tenant of Matignon, surrounded by the ministers of the economy, Bruno Le Maire, of agriculture, Marc Fesneau, and of ecological transition , Christophe Béchu, gave his approval to most of the federation’s demands. He promised to ” release “ and of “ protect “ farmers, recalling the Macronist slogan of the origins to defend productive agriculture, preserved from “laws of the jungle”.
Representative of “French identity”
Little valued since 2017 – with macronism defending industry more – agriculture suddenly becomes a precious asset in the eyes of the government. A representative value of the“French identity”according to Gabriel Attal, who mentioned, during his general policy declaration on Tuesday, a “French agricultural exception”. “Our French agricultural exception is not a question of budget, but of pride and identity”, he insists on Thursday.
To fight against the disappearance of this rural world, the “sovereignty” food must be enshrined in law, setting objectives, announces the Prime Minister. “The war is here”will recall, the same day, in Brussels, on the sidelines of a European Council, Emmanuel Macron to defend “an agricultural policy that allows us to produce more”, presaging of “getting out of pesticides through research”.
You have 65% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.