French PM seeks to avert fresh farmer protests with bill of change
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal outlined a package of measures on Wednesday aimed at reassuring farmers that agriculture remained a top priority for the government.
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Attal's attempt at appeasement came three days before the start of the annual Salon de l'Agriculture in Paris.
"France must be sovereign. Agricultural sovereignty is our course," Attal told a press conference.
Flanked by Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau and Christophe Béchu – who holds the Ecological Transition portfolio – Attal added: "We want to place agriculture among the nation's fundamental interests in the same way as our defence or our security.
"I would remind you that there can be no country without farmers."
The French government will prepare by the summer a new law to better safeguard farmers' income and strengthen their position in negotiations with retailers and consumer goods companies, said Attal.
Farmers say they are not being paid enough and have to fork out too much in taxes and are constricted by new rules on the environment. They also claim they face unfair competition from abroad.
Change
Attal said almost all seasonal jobs in agriculture would be exempt from employers' contributions. "This measure will apply from 2024," he added.
He also promised that the remainder of aid for formers from the European Common Agricultural Policy would be paid by 15 March.
"In 2015, at the same time, 0 percent of payments had been made, and payment was made a year late," said Attal.
In France, farmers' protests have been toned down following weeks of protests that included blocking roads.
Demonstrations in other European countries including Belgium, Greece and Germany have exposed the tensions over the impact on farming of the EU's drive to tackle climate change, as well of opening the door to cheaper Ukrainian imports to help Kyiv's war effort.
"Farmers have asked us to go even further. We've been faithful to the method I've set out: listen and act to achieve results," said Attal.
The draft policy law will be presented at the end of the week, discussed in the spring, and a joint committee will be set up by June, said Fesneau.
Attal also announced the launch of a parliamentary mission on the Egalim law, which aims to ensure that farmers are properly remunerated.
It will be headed by the MPs Alexis Izard from President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party and Anne-Laure Babault who is a member of the MoDem group.
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