JOSSIGNY, FRANCE – In the face of ongoing protests by French farmers, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has unveiled a series of promises aimed at alleviating their concerns. Farmers, seeking improved pay, reduced constraints, and lower costs, have been staging demonstrations that include blocking highways and surrounding Paris. Attal, who took office less than a month ago, addressed the National Assembly, emphasizing the need to guarantee fair competition, especially regarding regulations applied to French farmers and foreign products.
The prime minister committed to providing emergency aid to struggling wine producers and prompt payments of EU subsidies to others. He also announced fines for food retailers not complying with laws ensuring a fair share of revenues for farmers. Despite these measures, protesters, encamped on highways and armed with tents and supplies, remain skeptical, with some threatening to move towards the capital.
The government has deployed 15,000 police officers, mainly in the Paris region, to prevent protesters from entering the capital. The Rungis market, a vital source of fresh food supplies in Paris, is also being monitored by officers and armored vehicles.
Meanwhile, the farming crisis has sparked similar actions in neighboring European countries, including Belgium, Spain, and Italy. The global food crisis, exacerbated by Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, has led French farmers to assert that rising prices for inputs and over-regulation are impacting their incomes. President Emmanuel Macron is set to discuss the farming crisis with the European Commission chief in Brussels on Thursday, defending the EU farm policy as crucial for sustaining European agriculture in a globalized economy.