French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced this Friday afternoon (26) at a meeting with farmers in the Toulouse region, in the south, a series of measures that respond to the demands of “angry farmers”, as they have called producers in recent times demonstrated against the government for days.
However, hours later, the president of the FNSEA (National Federation of Farmers' Unions), the country's largest agricultural union, said he and his colleagues were not satisfied. “We have taken the decision to continue this mobilization,” Arnaud Rousseau told TF1 television.
“The Prime Minister’s announcements do not answer all the questions we have asked. There are many demands to which he has not responded. What was said tonight does not assuage the anger, we must go further,” Rousseau said.
The government's most important measure to accommodate farmers was the end of the gradual increase in the tax on GNR (Gasoil Non Routier) or nonroad diesel, which is the mandatory fuel for agricultural machinery in the country.
Her announcement was made by Attal himself, in a stable on a farm in MontastrucdeSalies near the Spanish border, under the eyes of at least 36 cows and with a haystack as a pulpit.
“We will stop this trend of increasing GNR,” Attal said, giving in to one of the main demands of farmers. The legislation in force under Emmanuel Macron's government provides for an annual increase in this tax until January 2030.
The system works like this: the farmer buys a liter of GNR for €1.29 (R$6.88), of which €0.25 (R$0.33) is tax. After the purchase, he can request a refund of the fees and will receive around €0.18 (R$0.96) back.
The current law which aimed to equate taxes on agricultural GNR with those on ordinary fuel provided for an annual reduction in this amount to be refunded. So if it were maintained until 2030, the farmer would pay the same €0.25 in taxes that year and only get €0.01 (R$0.05) back.
The Prime Minister also announced that tax refunds will be deducted at the time of purchase rather than upon receipt, at least “until the summer” (June to August in Europe), to simplify the process. The exemption will “take place immediately,” he said.
In his speech, Attal also criticized the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur and warned that France would not sign it. “I will say it here again very clearly: the President of the Republic has always opposed him, and we continue and will continue to do so.”
Mercosur and the EU have been negotiating this agreement for at least 20 years. Nowadays, environmental problems in particular prevent its signing. However, French farmers complain that the text would favor South American agriculture and cause losses due to the risk of unfair competition. France is the largest agricultural producer in the European Union.
After the meeting, Gabriel Attal went to a roadblock on the A64. Nearby, in Agen, a dead wild boar was hung in front of a labor inspector's office. Protesters dumped trash and debris in front of the town hall.
On the A13, which connects the northwest of the country with Paris, around 50 farmers warned before the FNSEA president's statement that they would not be impressed by the announced measures and would continue to block the road, at least tonight.
Jérôme Canival, who farms land in Surtauville, told Le Monde newspaper that going to Paris was not a good idea. “I drove the tractor there three times, it makes no sense. They are great photos, but we are simply an attraction.” Another farmer, Matteo Legrand, told the Portal news agency that he was in favor of going to the capital “to show our anger, our grievances.”
According to a document seen by Portal, the FNSEA plans to set up 11 roadblocks on key suburban axes around Paris, including the A6, A10 and A13 motorways.
Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire previously said that “the central issue is the income of farmers,” adding that the government would guarantee them fair prices.
Le Maire spent months pressuring food giants such as Carrefour and Danone to lower their prices to end consumers to combat rising inflation.
This has raised the ire of agricultural producers, who say they are facing financial difficulties and feel their existence is threatened.
Now the minister has promised to deal “mercilessly” with the same giants to ensure adequate financial compensation for farmers.
With the European elections in June just months away, farmers' outrage is a concern for Macron, who fears the sector's growing support for the far right in the runup to the European Parliament elections. Marine Le Pen's National Reunification party is currently leading the polls with 29% of the vote, while Macron's Renaissance Party has 20% of the vote.