France farmer protests: PM offers key concessions after roads around Paris blocked
France’s newly appointed prime minister has unveiled significant concessions to address the grievances of protesting farmers in a bid to quell the escalating demonstrations.
Gabriel Attal, in an announcement on Friday, pledged to halt the surge in fuel prices and streamline regulatory processes, responding directly to the demands voiced by farmers who had converged on Paris, obstructing major arteries into and out of the city.
Acknowledging the farmers’ resolute message, Attal asserted, “Your message has been received loud and clear.”
He emphasized a commitment to prioritize agriculture above all else, reaffirming this stance during a visit to a cattle ranch in a mountain hamlet near the French-Spanish border.
Attal endeavored to tackle the myriad concerns expressed by farmers, ranging from the soaring expenses of farm fuel to delays in receiving European Union (EU) subsidies, bureaucratic red tape, and stiff competition from imported goods.
He outlined “10 immediate actions” aimed at providing relief, including the abandonment of plans to hike fuel prices. Additionally, Attal announced plans to petition the EU for alterations to regulations mandating the set-aside of agricultural land.
Furthermore, he affirmed France’s steadfast opposition to signing an EU free-trade pact, a move farmers fear would inundate domestic markets with inexpensive imports.
His concessions have not gone down well with some.
“We are not satisfied with what was announced this evening,” Alexandre Plateau, a representative of the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions (FNSEA), the main farmers’ union, told the Franceinfo radio network.
“A few requests have been met, but it is not enough.”
Laurence Marandola, a spokesman for the Peasant Confederation union body, told the RTL radio network that Mr. Attal’s concessions were “very largely insufficient”.
“We will continue to remain mobilized. It’s not necessarily roadblocks, there will be different forms of mobilization, on the road, on roundabouts, in front of supermarkets,” she said.
Earlier on Friday, the A1 motorway linking Paris the northern city of Lille, and Belgium was blocked by tractors and hay bales.
According to the FNSEA, some 55,000 people were mobilized nationwide.
Among the protesters was Christophe Beeuwsaert, a cereal and milk farmer in the Oise region north of Paris. He told the AFP news agency that the plan was to build a ring around the city and to keep moving closer in – increasing the pressure.
“When we hear our governments saying that they understand us, that they know what we’re going through, it’s just a load of rubbish,” he said.
They (the politicians) sit in their leather seats, in their heated or air-conditioned offices… don’t see the impact of all the decisions they make on us.”
Protests are also continuing in the south of France, with the main road between the Lyon region and the Spanish border also blocked.
“We’ve already been demonstrating for a week and we still have no answers. We don’t want any more words, we want acts,” Sebastien, a young farmer, told AFP news agency at a blockade outside Toulouse’s Blagnac airport.
The farmers’ protests are the first major test for Mr Attal, who has only been in power since the start of the month.
They began in the southwest of France last week, with several key motorways there cut off entirely by farmers who have installed sleeping quarters in the middle of the highways.
On Tuesday, a farmer in her 30s and her 12-year-old daughter were killed after a car accidentally crashed into a roadblock just south of Toulouse. Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau said at the time it was a “tragedy for all of us”.
France’s protests come at the same time as similar demonstrations by other European countries including Germany and Belgium.
