The French government will allocate 150 million euros “starting this year and on an ongoing basis” to ease the financial and social burden of farmers and livestock farmers, Gallian Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said this Thursday.
“Our farmers need specific support. That’s why […] We will provide them with 150 million euros of financial and social support starting this year and on an ongoing basis,” Attal told a news conference as agricultural protests intensify in France, in unison with other European countries.
On the other hand, Attal also assured that the executive branch will work for the European Union (EU) to approve “clear legislation” defining synthetic meat, which is produced from animal tissue cells and is currently not approved for use in the space community.
“Synthetic meat does not correspond to our idea of French cuisine. Therefore, I would like to see clear legislation at the European level on what synthetic meat is,” Attal said, presenting measures to overcome the country’s agricultural crisis.
In November, Italy banned the production and sale of synthetic meat.
On the other hand, French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau announced that the government would “suspend” a project to set targets for reducing the use of pesticides by the country’s farmers, a move that has angered farmers.
The plan, known as Ecophyto, aims to halve pesticide use by 2030.
“We’re going to put it on pause while we reformulate some aspects and simplify it,” Fenot said, revealing with Attal part of the response to France’s agricultural crisis.
Attal also announced that Paris wants to prevent the import into France of fruits and vegetables treated with the pesticide thiacloprid, a product banned in Europe.
The head of the French government also called for including the issue of limiting the import of Ukrainian grain into the EU into the negotiations.
The EU has not included grains on the list of sensitive products that may be subject to import restrictions.
Gabriel Attal, almost a week after his first statements in favor of farmers, also promised to strengthen the existing law protecting farmers’ remuneration in the face of a brutal price war between supermarkets on the one hand, and agribusiness distributors and suppliers on the other.
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said that “all major supermarket chains” will be “inspected in the coming days,” stressing that “more than 10,000 checks will be carried out on the French origin of products.”
In a series of measures announced this Thursday, Attal also pledged to relax the rules that oblige farmers to maintain pastures by applying “an exemption from the obligation to replant pastures for a period of one year.”
He also announced an increase in the agricultural inheritance tax exemption threshold.
“We want to be sovereign, sovereign to cultivate, sovereign to harvest, sovereign to feed ourselves,” said the French Prime Minister.
Despite concessions from the European Union, the farmers’ revolt continues to spread, with thousands of tractors on display in Brussels, where European leaders are meeting for a summit, and blockades of strategic roads in France.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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