PARIS (AP) — Two major farmer unions in France announced they would lift a nationwide blockade on Thursday, shortly after the prime minister introduced new measures aimed at protecting their livelihoods that they described as “tangible progress.”
However, farmer activists who have Traffic was disrupted along major highways across Paris They said they would stay put at least another day to see the government's commitments in writing, and both unions said they would closely monitor any government implementation.
“We don’t want to hear words of love. What we want is proof of love,” said Thierry Deforges, a farmer union member at the A6 highway checkpoint in Chely-Mazarin, south of Paris.
Thousands of French farmers demonstrate For two weeks across the country in protests against low incomes, strict regulations and what they call unfair competition from abroad. Similar protests spread across Europe, including at the European Union headquarters in Brussels.
prime minister Gabriel AttalHis previous promises to address farmers' issues failed to quell French protests, announced a new set of measures on Thursday.
This includes 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. 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 largest farmers' union FNSEA, and Arnaud Guillot, president of the Young Farmers Union, said at a press conference later Thursday that they were calling on their members to suspend the protests.
“We have listened to a number of points, with tangible progress being made,” Rousseau said, although both unions said they would closely monitor whether the government would deliver on its promises by June.
“We call on our members to suspend the blockade,” Gayo said.
Atal's speech came earlier on Thursday as hundreds of angry farmers drove heavy tractors It created chaos outside the European Union headquarterscalling on leaders at the European Union summit to provide relief from High prices and bureaucracy.
“The question currently being asked across Europe: Is there a future for our agriculture? Of course the answer is yes,” said Attal.
At roadblocks across France, protesters watched the speech on smartphones and televisions they had installed.
Attal promised that there would be no new ban on pesticides “without a solution” and said that no pesticides allowed elsewhere in the EU would be banned in France. Attal also announced that France would, with immediate effect, ban imports of fruit and vegetables from outside the EU that have been treated with thiaclopride, an insecticide currently banned in the bloc.
He added that France would propose establishing a “European monitoring force” to combat fraud, especially with regard to health regulations and combating the import of food products that conflict with European and French health standards.
Attal also reiterated that France would remain opposed to the European Union signing a free trade agreement with the Mercosur trade group. He said: “There is no doubt about France's acceptance of this treaty.”
He said the government's goals through the newly announced measures are to “restore food to its value” and “increase farmers' incomes, protect them from unfair competition and simplify their daily lives.”
Attal also announced 150 million euros ($162 million) in aid for livestock farmers and a tax cut on farms that are passed on from older to younger generations.
Agriculture Minister Marc Visnot, speaking after Attal, announced a €2 billion ($2.16 billion) package to provide loans to those who become farmers.
The French government has also doubled the number of controls to punish food industrial groups and supermarkets that do not comply with a 2018 law aimed at paying a fair price to farmers. The fine can amount to up to 2% of sales revenue for businesses that do not comply.
At the Chile Mazarin siege, FNSEA representative Damien Griffin said farmers still needed time to “analyze the measures better” as some seemed to him “a bit disingenuous”.
Desforges, a fellow FNSEA member, remained cautious about proposals that concern the EU because “we know how Europe works, and countries still need to agree.”
As for the local proposals, “we really need to wait and see if they become law,” Deforge added.
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Oleg Cetnik and Helena Alves of Chile Mazarin and Michel Euler of Argenteuil contributed to the story.
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