On the afternoon of Tuesday, December 23, Emmanuel Macron hosted agricultural unions at the Elysée to discuss the EU-Mercosur deal, which they oppose, against the backdrop of concerns over nodular skin disease (LCD).
“The purpose of the meeting was to try to put out some of the fire that is raging all over the countryside”underlined Stéphane Galais, national spokesperson of the Confédération Paysanne, at the end of the meeting, adding that it was necessary for this “strong structural measures”. “The ball has been passed, now it is in their court”added Pierrick Horel, chairman of the Young Farmers (JA).
The unions say they have also reminded the head of state of this“extreme tension” and the ” fury “ from the agricultural world and that responses were awaited “from the first days of January” about Mercosur, but also about the DNC and bird flu.
“The message from the FNSEA to the President of the Republic will remain unchanged, strong and clear: Mercosur = NO”had warned the majority union before the start of this meeting.
“France’s position is solid,” says Sébastien Lecornu
This was the first meeting between the head of state and the unions since the beginning of December and the beginning of the crisis that is rocking French breeding, in front of the DNC. It was also the first since the announcement last Thursday of the a priori postponement until January 12 of the signing of the criticized treaty between the EU and the Mercosur countries.
“On the Mercosur Treaty, France’s position is firm”Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed for his part after the meeting of agricultural unions at the Elysée. “No agreement will be accepted if it weakens our industries or imposes unfair competition. The text has evolved, but the story is still not there”added the head of government, who is due to meet the unions again on January 5.
This free trade agreement would facilitate the access to Europe of South American meat, sugar, rice, honey and soy, which is worrying the sectors concerned. On the other hand, it would allow Europeans to export more vehicles, machinery, wines and spirits to South America.
Emmanuel Macron welcomed the postponement of the signing and asked whether the “advanced” The demands of France and Italy will become reality “the text changes in nature”.
Some farmers mobilized for more than ten days
“The progress made by the President of the Republic does not suit us”on Tuesday evening, the president of the FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau, hammered at the exit of the Elysée. “Importing products from the rest of the planet that do not meet European standards and what is asked of us every day on our farms is not possible”he said again.
The agricultural unions were hostile to this agreement for months and asked the head of state to take a clear position, after he declared in November that he “fairly positive” about the possibility of accepting the agreement.
“We are not just opposing this agreement. As it stands, we are obtaining unprecedented concessions for the benefit of our farmers, whether this agreement is signed or not.”Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated this on Tuesday during questions to the government “mirror measures to guarantee reciprocity”of the “customs controls” and indemnity clauses.
Some farmers have been mobilized on the ground for more than ten days, particularly against the total slaughter of herds where cases of DNC are discovered.
A new outbreak of DNC confirmed in Haute-Garonne
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed a new outbreak of DNC on a cattle farm in Haute-Garonne, bringing the total number of outbreaks in France since June to 115. This last affected herd was slaughtered.
On Tuesday there were highway blockades on the A63 south of Bordeaux or on the A64 in Carbonne (Haute-Garonne) and Briscous (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). According to Vinci Autoroutes, an 80 kilometer stretch between Haute-Garonne and the Basque Country has been reopened.
In Cestas, south of Bordeaux, demonstrators from the Gironde Rural Coordination (CR33) said they wanted to organize a New Year’s Eve and a Christmas mass on their dam on Wednesday evening, just like the farmers mobilized in Carbonne, near Toulouse.
On Tuesday evening, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques prefecture estimated that the cost of the blockades in the region was more than one million euros. She also complained “unacceptable damage”.
The mobilization of farmers saw a slight increase on Monday (35 actions mobilizing 1,200 people) compared to Sunday (23 actions), but is significantly lower than last week (110 actions Thursday, 93 Friday).
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