France’s framework agriculture law passed last week will not resolve all problems facing farmers, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said Monday, visiting the annual agriculture fair in Paris, a rite of passage for all French politicians.
After a two hour meeting with four farmers’ unions Monday morning Bayrou set out with Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard to tour the stands of the fair, tasting products from different regions and speaking with producers and farmers.
Bayrou praised the “positive” interactions with the FNSEA, Jeunes agriculteurs, Coordination rurale and Confédération paysanne unions, which he said “recognise the very big efforts” made by the government to meet their demands.
Yet, there are still “problems to resolve on prices, revenue, which is the most important problem”, he said.
The Senate is currently debating a lifting of a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides, which some farmers say is important to allow them to continue to be competitive.
Bayrou said there is a “balance to be found”.
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While the main unions welcomed the meeting, and the government’s willingness to simplify regulations, the Confederation Paysanne was “extremely shocked by government’s remarks on food sovereignty”, said spokesperson Laurence Marandola.
On Sunday, visiting the agriculture fair, Genevard called for France to “produce more to eat better… produce more to import less”.
At the opening of the fair the day before, President Emmanuel Macron promised to do everything he could to “protect this French and European food sovereignty.”
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The FNSA has called on the lifting of environmental regulations in order to produce more, but the Confederation Paysanne considers it “irresponsible to call to produce more to export more while flouting the production capacity, the issue of limits and the sharing of resources”, Maradola said.
Food sovereignty is a key concept for the far right, and the National Rally’s president Jordan Bardella came to the fair Monday for the second time, as he called on European far right groups to suspend the European Green deal.
(with newswires)
