Emmanuel Macron made the surprise announcement during the rowdy inauguration of the Agricultural Show in Paris on Saturday February 24, in the midst of agricultural anger. He was committed to the creation of “floor prices” to better remunerate farmers. Finally, a text, in favor of these famous floor prices, aimed at guaranteeing “a dignified income for farmers”, carried by environmentalists in their parliamentary “niche”, was voted on, at first reading, Thursday April 4, in the National Assembly.
It was adopted, at 11 p.m., after five hours of debate, by 89 votes to 66. The left voted for, the National Rally abstained, the Republican deputies were absent for the vote. As for the government majority, it voted against. Present at the meeting, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Agriculture, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, rejected the system deemed “inoperative”even if the government “share fully [sa] concern “ regarding the income of farmers, she said.
“The path leading to administered prices must be ruled out” because it is not the government which “can determine the price for an economic sector”, she estimated. Moreover, “the establishment of a minimum price, which, by definition, would only apply to national production, could favor imported products to the detriment of our farmers”she stressed, according to AFP.
A lively debate
The bill carried by the environmentalist MP for Drôme, Marie Pochon, proposes that each sector estimate the costs of agricultural production every four months. These costs include paying farmers twice the minimum wage. The minimum purchase price of agricultural products, which cannot be lower than production costs, is set at a public conference. In the event of no agreement, the commercial relations mediator submits a report of the negotiations to the ministers ultimately responsible for setting a minimum price.
This measure had already been presented in a text tabled by La France insoumise in November and narrowly rejected by the Assembly. It was therefore the President of the Republic who relaunched a lively debate on floor prices at the end of February, acceding to a request from the agricultural union of the Confédération Paysanne. Bruno Le Maire immediately defended the presidential proposal, specifying: “The floor price is not a unified price. I don’t see why the agricultural world would be the only one selling at a loss. It is unfair morally and economically inefficient. »
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