France’s newly appointed prime minister said Tuesday the government was introducing controls on foreign food products to ensure “fair competition” and calm protests by French farmers.
In his general political speech to the National Assembly, Gabriel Attal stated that “the goal is clear: to ensure fair competition, especially that the rules applied to farmers [franceses] foreign products are also respected.”
The official also said that food retailers who do not comply with the law, which aims to provide farmers with a fair share of income, will now be fined.
Farmers have been protesting across France for days, trying to pressure the government to respond to their demands for higher yields, less bureaucracy and protection from cheap imports.
As farmers stand at the barricades of protest around Paris, the French government is hoping to reassure them by making more concessions in response to their complaints that food production has become too difficult and not profitable enough.
The new prime minister championed the farming sector in his first major speech to parliament, outlining his government’s priorities.
“[A agricultura é a] our strength and our pride. Not only because it literally feeds us. But also because this constitutes one of the foundations of our identity, our traditions,” he said.
Farmers’ campaign for higher wages, fewer restrictions and lower costs turned into a major crisis for Attal in his first month in office.
Protesters rejected the measures Attal announced last week, saying they were insufficient, and the government promised more responses would be released on Tuesday.
On Monday, protesting farmers surrounded Paris with overloaded barricades, using hundreds of heavy tractors and piles of hay bales to
Protesters are prepared for a long battle with tents and supplies of food and water to block roads leading to the French capital, where the Summer Olympics will be held in six months.
The government announced it would deploy 15,000 police, mainly to the Paris region, to prevent any attempts by protesters to enter the capital.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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