Gabriel Attal announced several measures to emerge from the crisis. The Prime Minister spoke again at midday. Six major objectives were announced, responding, according to him, “to a large part of the expectations” of farmers. Gabriel Attal first announced that he wanted to “enshrine the objective of (food) sovereignty in the law”. He then announced that he wanted to promote labeling of the origin of products, particularly at the European level. The government has promised that from July, the tax rebate that farmers benefit from on GNR would be applied upon purchase, and no longer after the fact with proof.
400 million for farmers. According to the Ministry of the Economy, emergency measures for farmers represent some 400 million euros in total. Gabriel Attal spoke on Thursday of 150 million euros in tax and social support for cattle breeders.
“The Ecophyto plan is put on hold” by Marc Fesneau. The Minister of Agriculture announced the pause of the Ecophyto plan which aims to reduce the use of pesticides in the country. “Dramatic”, “unacceptable setback”: Environmentalists protested Thursday against the government’s decision.
The FNSEA and Young Farmers are calling for the blockages to be lifted. “We have decided that at the moment, in view of everything that has been announced (…), we need to change our modes of action and therefore we are calling on our networks (…) to suspend the blockages and enter into a new form of mobilization,” indicated the president of the JA Arnaud Gaillot, alongside the boss of the FNSEA Arnaud Rousseau. This slogan was followed in several departments, whose prefectures have reported lifting of blockades, or at the very least reductions, even if occasional blockages persist, according to Matignon.
The Peasant Confederation continues. The Peasant Confederation, on the other hand, called on Thursday evening to “continue the mobilization” because “the fundamental question of income” is “still not taken head-on by the government” according to it.
The convoy of farmers leaving Agen towards Rungis “descends” towards the South-West. A convoy of farmers who left Lot-et-Garonne for Paris began their return on Thursday. They made a stopover for the night in Pierrefitte, in Loir-et-Cher. “Afterwards we will go back down to Lot-et-Garonne. We are not going to fight every day against the gendarmerie or against anyone,” declared José Perez, co-president of Rural Coordination 47.
Emmanuel Macron calls for more protection from Europe. At the end of a summit in Brussels, Emmanuel Macron for his part affirmed that imports of Ukrainian cereals would also be affected by a “reinforced safeguard mechanism” at European level, allowing “intervention” in the event of destabilization of prices. . The President of the Republic also wants the establishment of a European Egalim.
With the decline of mobilization in France also comes the time of reckoning. The actions of farmers last week caused 400,000 euros of damage in the Agen area, according to the mayor. The bill also amounts to hundreds of thousands of euros in other areas across the country, notably in Haute-Vienne and Côtes-d’Armor.