Macron's arrival at the event coincided with scenes of violence and confusion
He Paris Agricultural Exhibition This Saturday became the scene of the Dissatisfaction in the agricultural sectorwho received the French President Emmanuel Macron with whistles, boos and incidents with the police leaving six were arrested and eight were injured.
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Already in the early hours of the morning there was high tension at the Puerta de Versalles exhibition center because, parallel to the arrival of the French President to open the major event, dozens of people broke through a fence and security forces entered the area early.
“This is what I say to all farmers: you are not helping any of your colleagues by destroying stalls, you are not helping any of your colleagues by making the salon impossible and stopping families from coming. I appeal to everyone to calm down“Macron said this in statements to the press.
The president was protected by dozens of riot police who regularly pushed protesters away from him. Some of them called him a “liar,” shouted “get out” and called on him to resign.
To calm the situation, the French president launched a kind of informal debate in closed rooms with dozens of representatives of trade unions and rural associations, amid strong security measures.
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He debated with them for just over two hours in a sometimes tense but mostly constructive atmosphere.
“We will all achieve it together,” emphasized the President, promising that the government would not forget and implement its commitments Measures to improve the situation in the agricultural sector.
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Farmers, in turn, criticized Macron for the vagueness and slowness of government initiatives given the urgent and immediate needs of the sector.
Noting that the current agricultural crisis cannot be solved in a week, Macron sought to explain some measures his government is preparing to respond to rural needs.
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to members of agricultural unions on the opening day of the 60th International Agricultural Fair (Salon de l'Agriculture) in Paris, February 24, 2024 (Portal)
Among the topics discussed during the debate were the use of pesticides, the problems of ensuring water supplies for the future, the difficulties of generational change in the countryside or the implementation of a census of agricultural holdings in difficulty in order to increase government support improve the treasury level.
There was also talk of the need to make the French egalim law more effective, which guarantees farmers cost-covering basic purchasing prices and sets minimum price lists for each sector of activity.
According to Macron, France wants to bring this device to Europe in order to align the rules between different countries, since the French device is often raffled off thanks to the establishment of shopping centers in other European countries, including Spain, to avoid French legislation.
Another topic that came to the fore was The country's rejection of the free trade agreement with Mercosur, Macron emphasized that there would be no agreement from France without the inclusion of mirror clauses.
Macron touches a cow while visiting the 60th International Agricultural Fair (Salon de l'Agriculture) on February 24, 2024 (Portal)
With this debate, Macron finally managed to improvise an open dialogue with farmers, as the Elysée Palace had originally proposed for this opening day of the Salon.
However, yesterday this initiative was met with direct rejection from farmers, very dissatisfied, especially about the possible involvement of a radical environmental group in the event of an eventso that the big debate was finally canceled.
After the meeting with the union representatives, despite the tense situation and the several-hour delay, Macron cut through the opening barrier of the hall, as is tradition for French presidents, and went on to chat with some of those present.
He had to do it under the noise of the whistles and the boosin addition to being surrounded by strong security as the incidents resurfaced.
During his talks with the press and participants, Macron accused some of the protesters of being there for political reasons, particularly related to Marine Le Pen's extreme rightand not to defend the interests of rural areas.
“French agriculture deserves better than bad policies,” the president declared, before criticizing the far right’s “degrowth” and “stupidity” project.
Although the International Agricultural Exhibition is traditionally a very demanding event, a French president has never faced similar rejection at this event.
(With information from EFE)