On Thursday morning, at the Élysée Palace, Emmanuel Macron met representatives of the farming community to discuss the sector’s ‘prospects’ and make official the end of this winter’s crisis

Just over two months after the end of the blockades and an eventful Salon de l’Agriculture, the French government is seeking to close the chapter on the agricultural crisis. On Thursday 2 May, Emmanuel Macron is hosting a meeting at the Élysée Palace with the key players in the sector – trade unions, industry leaders and inter-professional organisations – to ‘discuss the outlook for French and European agriculture’, according to the French Presidency.

The meeting comes just days after Gabriel Attal announced 14 new measures to support farmers. The majority unions seem ready to move on to a new stage with the government, without starting from scratch.

Moving on to a new stage of implementation

Following Gabriel Attal’s announcements on Saturday, the new aid released by the public investment bank for farms, and the acceleration of 100 water storage and irrigation projects, the FNSEA and the Young Farmers felt that ‘the post-mobilisation work phase is drawing to a close’, signalling a change of direction from the meeting at the Élysée Palace. ‘We are entering a new phase of concretisation’, explained Luc Smessaert, vice-president of the FNSEA. ‘How can we restore farm incomes so that farmers are no longer used as an adjustment variable between supermarkets and the agri-food industry? How can we put a stop to restrictions on the use of plant protection products? This meeting is crucial for the Young Farmers and the FNSEA.

There are many projects to come. These include the discussion of the agricultural orientation bill in committee at the Assembly since Tuesday, aimed at facilitating the transfer of farms, the forthcoming Ecophyto plan, the new version of Egalim expected by the summer and the future of floor prices to protect farmers’ incomes, announced by Emmanuel Macron himself at the Salon de l’agriculture.

Our farmers don’t feel listened to

This does not mean, however, that the unions no longer have any demands to make of the Head of State. There are still gaps to be filled, particularly in terms of cash flow, according to the Coordination rurale, which believes that insufficient progress has been made, as its president Véronique Le Floc’h points out.

The Confédération paysanne is also critical, pointing to a lack of willingness to date to guarantee farmers an income and support them in their ecological transition. For the time being, however, no return to the roads with tractors is envisaged, even if the anger remains palpable, according to the unions. They acknowledge that some progress has been made since the beginning of the crisis, but for the time being they are ruling out any easing of pressure.

For its part, the government claims that 91% of the commitments made in response to farmers’ anger have either been fulfilled or are in the process of being implemented.