2024-02-05 13:17:27
For them, the account is not there. Unlike the FNSEA and the Young Farmers (JA) who called for the lifting of farmers’ blockades after the government’s second round of announcements, the Peasant Confederation is continuing its actions. They should continue at least until the start of the Agricultural Show on February 24. The third agricultural union mainly targets supermarkets and purchasing centers. For example in a Carrefour in Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) this Saturday as reported by South Westin a Leclerc d’Auch (Gard) or even in a Auchan of Villeneuve-d’Ascq (North).
However, the government thought it had extinguished the embers of the farmers’ mobilization, the FNSEA having announced that it would be “transformed”. With the effect of forcing farmers blocking certain roads to return home. “We believe that Gabriel Attal’s announcements do not provide a long-term response,” explains Véronique Marchesseau, general secretary of the Confédération paysanne, to the Parisian. According to her, the government responded “in part to an emergency situation”, but did not initiate an “in-depth reform” as her union demanded.
Concretely, the Peasant Confederation first wants progress on the question of peasant income. “At the moment, we have no income assurance. Our buyers – the food industry or mass distribution – impose prices on us which do not cover our costs,” assures Véronique Marchesseau, who is calling for the establishment of a ban on all sales “which do not cover all our costs”.
This is why “places where pressure on our prices is exerted” are targeted. That is to say supermarkets or purchasing centers. “Everywhere where we believe that there are predators who make money at our backs,” summarizes Véronique Marchesseau.
Stop Free Trade
Another point of contention: free trade. “We are demanding that agricultural products are no longer included in free trade agreements,” explains the general secretary of this union labeled on the left. In the viewfinder, the much-maligned draft agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur, but also “all other free trade agreements”, such as the one concluded in July 2022 between the EU and New Zeeland. “We no longer want to be the bargaining chip allowing others to sell planes or cars,” says Véronique Marchesseau on this subject.
The continuation of the mobilization clashes with the speech given by the FNSEA and the JA. For what ? “Because they gave up before having price guarantees. But what they have gained is a step backwards on the environmental level,” replies Véronique Marchesseau. For her, combining environment and price is not “incompatible”. “For a farmer to lead an ecological transition, he must be supported by politicians. »
This Monday, it’s the beekeepers of the Peasant Confederation who mobilized. They denounce “unfair” competition from honeys from other European countries or from “China”. “Beekeepers cannot sell their production because they face honey at unbeatable prices,” concludes Véronique Marchesseau.
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