Accused of dragging its feet on the subject of agricultural pensions, the government is taking the initiative again. Thursday February 2, Gabriel Attal committed to “continue the work” on the entry into force of a new method of calculating pensions for farm managers. Part of the measures aimed at calming the anger of the profession, this announcement by the Prime Minister puts back on the forefront a project whose ambition is to improve the amount of benefits paid. Shared by all political forces, this objective is proving complicated to achieve, particularly for technical reasons. One of the main challenges of the current reflection is to prevent farmers located at the bottom of the income scale from being penalized.
At the heart of the debates, there is a reform resulting from a bill proposed by Julien Dive, Les Républicains (LR) deputy for Aisne. Adopted in February 2023 after a unanimous vote of both chambers of Parliament, the text aims to determine, from 2026, the basic pension of “non-agricultural employees” – the operators, for the most part – “based on the most advantageous twenty-five years of insurance”, and no longer over the entire career. The aim of the text is twofold: to put an end to an injustice by adopting the rules which prevail for private sector workers, and to raise pensions which are much lower than the average.
The “Dive law” provided that, within three months of its promulgation, the executive should submit a report “specifying the modalities of implementation” of the device. Carrying out this expertise was entrusted to two senior civil servant services: the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) and the General Council for Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas.
Extend the investigations
But the disclosure of the results took longer than had been set by the legislator, causing growing annoyance. On January 22, shortly after the start of the peasant mobilizations, Arnaud Rousseau, the president of the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions (FNSEA), was concerned about these delays: “It’s a year later, there’s nothing (…). We are not moving forward”he was indignant, observing that “the credibility of public speech” is undermined. Mr. Dive, for his part, says he contacted his government contacts several times during 2023 to find out when the audit would be completed. Without getting a clear answer. He criticizes Marc Fesneau, the minister of agriculture, for “not paying much attention” on file.
You have 50% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.