The Prime Minister’s announcements on Friday evening, in the hope of appeasing the anger of farmers, did not convince the political class. From the promise of a “simplification shock” to the end of the increase in agricultural GNR (non-road diesel), the first reactions were not tinged, with overwhelming enthusiasm.
On the right, the Republicans are very mixed. “We do not provide proof of love by simplifying the marriage contract. I haven’t heard anything about reciprocity and unfair competition. The truth is that our farmers are being made cuckolds by our unfair imports which do not respect our standards,” reacts MP Antoine Vermorel-Marques, inviting the government to take up the LR proposal on the subject.
As for the cancellation of the increase on the GNR, he believes that this changes “nothing” to what was planned. For Julien Dive, deputy for Aisne, who will unveil on Wednesday a white paper on agriculture prepared with his colleague senator from Haute-Loire Laurent Duplomb, the Prime Minister “makes the right diagnosis”. But the parliamentarian says he is “disappointed”: We remain unsatisfied: he announces that he wants to simplify, okay, but it’s a little vague. It lacks concreteness.”
In the same way, Dive believes, certain subjects dear to the agricultural world were missed: “We expected a vision of the European market, of farmers’ income… There is nothing on income!” If Gabriel Attal has “taken the measure of the crisis”, continues the MP, he believes that the agricultural world is visibly “unknown and foreign” to him. “It is not against him but it is not in a few days with notes from technical specialists that we can take the measure of these men and women who are suffering.”
RN executives denounced in unison the Prime Minister’s announcements on the free trade treaty with South America, Mercosur. “Apart from Mercosur, no announcement from Gabriel Attal on the five other free trade treaties under negotiation to allow the European market to be flooded with agricultural products from around the world,” denounces Thierry Mariani on X (ex-Twitter). But no surprise, Macron’s friends support them in Brussels.” “Words… contrary to actions!” accuses RN deputy Alexandre Loubet, campaign director of Jordan Bardella.
“Today, Gabriel Attal declares that he is fighting against free trade treaties which are the law of the jungle, but the day before yesterday in Brussels, Macronist deputies voted for yet another unfair treaty with Chile…” “Between contradicting communication totally what the government has supported for seven years and insufficient measures, Gabriel Attal has not announced anything that will ensure the sustainability and renewal of the French agricultural model,” affirms for his part Jordan Bardella.
On the left, the disappointment is also palpable. “We would have liked to be convinced, but the measures announced are not at all up to the current social crisis,” says the staff of Europe Écologie-Les Verts. The party’s national secretary, Marine Tondelier, regrets “incantatory measures which do not address the substance of the subject, that is to say the question of farmers’ remuneration”. The announcement of the end of the increase in the GNR tax was anticipated by environmentalists. “Be careful not to focus on this question of fuel,” warned EELV.
