France’s two major farming unions have announced they will lift country-wide blockades, shortly after the prime minister introduced new measures aimed at protecting their livelihoods which they described as “tangible progress”.
However, activists who have jammed traffic along major roads around Paris said they would stay put for at least another day to see the government commitments in writing, and both unions said they would closely monitor any implementation.
“We don’t want to hear words of love. What we want is proof of love,” said Thierry Desforges, a union member at a blockade of the A6 highway in Chilly-Mazarin, south of Paris.
Thousands of French farmers have been demonstrating for a couple of weeks across the country in protests over low earnings, heavy regulation and what they call unfair competition from abroad.
Similar protests have extended across Europe, including at the European Union headquarters in Brussels.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, whose earlier promises to address farmers’ issues had failed to quell the protests, announced a new set of measures on Thursday.
They included tens of millions of euros in aid, tax breaks and a promise not to ban pesticides in France that are allowed elsewhere in Europe — which French farmers say leads to unfair competition.
Mr Attal also said France would immediately ban imports from outside the EU that use a pesticide banned in the bloc.
Arnaud Rousseau, president of France’s biggest farmers union FNSEA, and Young Farmers union president Arnaud Gaillot said at a news conference later that they were calling on their members to suspend the protests.
“We have been heard on a number of points, with tangible progress,” Mr Rousseau said, though both unions said they would give keep a close eye on whether the government implements its promises by June.
President Emmanuel Macron said the French government’s latest pledges to farmers meant he had heard their concerns. He said he won major concessions from the EU, describing it as a “deep revision of the logic” of European farming policy.
“The question is currently being asked throughout Europe: Is there a future for our agriculture? Of course, the answer is yes,” Mr Attal said.
He promised there would be no new pesticide ban “without a solution” and no pesticides would be banned in France that are authorised elsewhere in the EU.
He also announced that France was banning imports of fruits and vegetables coming from outside the EU that have been treated with Thiaclopride — an insecticide banned in the bloc.
EN DIRECT | Le Premier ministre, @GabrielAttal, présente de nouvelles mesures pour notre agriculture. https://t.co/mO4xBVS9z7
— Gouvernement (@gouvernementFR) February 1, 2024
France will propose the creation of a “European control force” to combat fraud, he said, particularly regarding health regulations, and fight against the import of food products that go against European and French health standards.
Mr Attal also reaffirmed France would remain opposed to the EU signing a free-trade deal with the Mercosur trade group. “There is no question of France accepting this treaty,” he said.
The government’s goals with the newly announced measures are “to give food its value back” and “to boost farmers’ income, to protect them against unfair competition and to simplify their daily life”, he said.
Mr Attal also announced 150 million euros (£128 million) in aid to livestock farmers and a decrease in taxes on farms being transferred from older generations to younger ones.
Agriculture minister Marc Fesneau announced a two billion euro (£1.7 billion) package to make loans for people setting up as farmers.
The French government has also doubled the numbers of controls to sanction food industrial groups and supermarkets that do not comply with a 2018 law meant to pay a fair price to farmers. The fine can reach up to 2% of sales revenues to companies that do not comply.