French Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal has disclosed that he is implementing controls on foreign food products in order to guarantee “fair competition” amid farmers’ protests.
For days, farmers have been demonstrating across France to put pressure on the government to respond to their demands for better remuneration for their produce, less red tape and protection against cheap imports.
Earlier on Tuesday, farmers set hay bales on fire to partly block access to Toulouse airport and parked tractors across highways near the capital, Paris.
In his general policy speech at the National Assembly on Tuesday, Attal told lawmakers that “the goal is clear: guaranteeing fair competition, especially so that regulations that are being applied to [French] farmers are also respected by foreign products.”
He said that food retailers who do not comply with a law meant to ensure a fair share of revenues for farmers will be fined, starting immediately.
“We need to listen to the farmers, who are working and are worried about their future and their livelihood,” Attal said.
The Prime Minister also said that he has gathered a coalition of 22 European Union countries to agree on an EU waiver on fallow land.
“We are close to achieving a new extension of the exemption,” he said.
Speaking before the National Assembly, Attal said that farmers should be subject to exceptions.
He said, “Our agriculture is a strength and our pride as well. So, I solemnly say it here, there is and there must be a French agricultural exception.”
The Prime Minister added, “I am lucid in the face of the accumulation of standards, decisions that come from above and sometimes fall we don’t know where (…) Farmers also have doubts and await answers and solutions.”
Attal promised that his government stood ready to resolve the crisis “without ambiguity.”
Farmers must meet certain conditions to receive EU subsidies, including leaving 4 percent of farmland to “non-productive” areas so nature can recover, which can be done by leaving land lying fallow.
Meanwhile, the protests spread to Belgium and Spain.
Belgian farmers, angry about rising costs, cheap food imports, and EU environmental policies, also blocked roads on Tuesday.
The Algemeen Boerensyndicaat (ABS, General Farmers Syndicate) union called on members to join the protest.
“The farmers are desperate, really desperate. We’ve warned the government for years that this would happen,” ABS Policy Officer, Mark Wulfrancke said.
“We want respect from our government, the European government. The only way to show that respect is to make a policy that is farmer-friendly, food-friendly. We need a correct price,” he told a news agency.
The Spanish farmer’s associations in Spain announced on Tuesday that they were also planning protests in February against the strict European regulations and lack of governmental support.
Macron Stresses Importance Of EU Support For Farmers
The French President, Emmanuel Macron said that European support for farmers is incredibly important and that the situation for farmers has improved over the past few years.
Speaking alongside the Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, during a visit to Stockholm, Macron acknowledged that within certain agricultural segments there are difficulties and more has to be done.
“We must begin by looking at legislation in France,” the President said, stressing that there’s a need to ensure not only major producers benefit from support.
He also said we want to have free trade but there’s a need to safeguard domestic producers.
Speaking specifically about imports from Ukraine, Macron said, “We have asked to have clear measures on imports from Ukraine because today we have things in volume and quality that are destabilizing the European market, whether it comes to chickens or cereals.”
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