The Élysée admitted on Friday a communication “error” after having mentioned the day before the invitation of the environmentalist association Les Soulèvements de la Terre to a debate at the Agricultural Show, which provoked the anger of the majority agricultural union , the FNSEA. “The Earth Uprisings were neither invited nor contacted. This was an error made during the interview with the press ahead of the event,” the presidency said on X.
“A mistake made during the press interview”
So that the Show gives rise to “an open moment of listening and debate on the future of French agriculture”, the Élysée invited “farmers, agricultural unions, agri-food industries, distributors and associations environmental organizations represented in the bodies” to participate in a debate with Emmanuel Macron.
“In addition, contacts were made with groups that have disrupted the Show in the past to offer them, for this edition, a constructive expression within the framework of this exchange,” added the presidency. But “the Earth Uprisings were neither invited nor contacted” she assures, assuring that the mention of their invitation was “an error made during the interview with the press ahead of the event” .
An invitation which angered the FNSEA
The prospect of an invitation from the controversial association, which the executive wanted to dissolve, provoked the anger of the FNSEA, whose president Arnaud Rousseau announced Thursday with a bang that he would not participate in the debate.
The Earth Uprising movement “throws Molotov cocktails at the police and destroys farmers’ property”, criticized Mr. Rousseau, who confirmed his non-participation in the debate on Friday, during an interview on BFMTV/RMC.
The Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau also estimated on Friday that this participation would be “inappropriate given the context”. The Earth Uprisings constitute “a collective whose model of expression is rather the Molotov cocktail”, he also affirmed on TF1. “So we don’t discuss with these people.”