Alexis Delafontaine with AFP
modified to
1:54 p.m., February 21, 2024
A few days before the opening of the Agricultural Show, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal holds a new press conference to present these new announcements to farmers. Despite several speeches in recent weeks, the anger of farmers has not subsided. New Egalim law, aid for professionals in the sector… Europe 1 takes stock of the main measures presented this Wednesday morning.
Gabriel Attal’s main measures:
– Agriculture will be placed “among the fundamental interests of the nation”, announces Gabriel Attal
– A new Egalim law will be presented by the summer
– 99.6% of CAP “basic aid” has already been paid
– The government wants to facilitate the arrival of foreign seasonal workers
– France will abandon the pesticide measurement indicator currently used
Place agriculture “among the fundamental interests of the nation”
Gabriel Attal wishes to place agriculture “at the rank of fundamental interests” of France in the same way as its security or its defense, reaffirming that “the objective of agricultural and food sovereignty” would be written “black and white” in the future project of agricultural orientation law.
This bill, expected by the summer, “recognizes in black and white our objective of agricultural and food sovereignty and places agriculture among the fundamental interests of the Nation, in the same way as our security or our national defense” , said the Prime Minister during a press conference devoted to the agricultural crisis. “It’s a strong act. It’s an expected and legitimate recognition. It’s a reminder that there is no country without farmers, no France without agriculture,” he added.
A new Egalim law text by summer
The government also wants to present a new law by the summer to “strengthen the Egalim system” which should allow better remuneration for farmers within the framework of negotiations between distributors and agro-industrial suppliers.
The Prime Minister indicated that a parliamentary mission was entrusted to deputies Alexis Izard (Renaissance) and Anne-Laure Babault (MoDem) and that the text of the law will be presented on the basis of their conclusions. The term Egalim refers to the States General of Food, launched in 2017 by Emmanuel Macron to find a better distribution of income between players in the French food chain.
99.6% of “basic aid” from the CAP has already been paid, assures Gabriel Attal
During his speech, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced that “99.61% of basic CAP aid” has already been paid to farmers, with the objective of 100% by March 15. “In 2015, at this same time, 0% of payments had taken place and the payment had been made one year late,” explained the head of government during his press conference in Matignon on the agricultural crisis.
Facilitate the arrival of foreign seasonal workers on farms
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced Wednesday that agricultural production would be declared a “sector in tension” during the Agricultural Show, in order to “greatly facilitate the allocation of visas” to bring foreign seasonal workers to French farms .
The Prime Minister also announced that the exemption from employer contributions on “almost all seasonal agricultural jobs” – the TO-DE system – would be made permanent and reinforced “from the year 2024”.
France will abandon the currently used pesticide measurement indicator, which was defended by environmentalists
Finally, the head of government announced Wednesday that France was going to abandon the indicator it currently uses to measure the reduction in the use of pesticides, Nodu, defended by environmental NGOs but contested by the majority agricultural union FNSEA and the pesticide industry.
“I am announcing to you that the reference indicator for monitoring our objective of reducing phytosanitary products will no longer be the Franco-French Nodu but the European indicator. This is in line with our desire to avoid any overtransposition. demand from farmers”, declared Gabriel Attal, while affirming that he did not want to “give up on (the) ambition to reduce the use of pesticides by 50% by 2030”.