French farmers suspend protests as taxi drivers scale down airport action

Local France

6 days ago

Unions representing French farmers and taxi drivers have both separately announced that they will suspend or decrease protest action on Tuesday.
However, it remains possible that new demonstrations could spring up again, as negotiations move forward with the government.
Farmers
Arnaud Rousseau, the head of the leading farming union, FNSEA, announced on the
RMC
radio station on Tuesday morning that the farmers' action "has been suspended following good news".
"We're suspending the mobilisation (...) Tractors are returning to their farms, even though we had planned to still be there this Tuesday and Wednesday," he said.
Rousseau was, confusingly, referring to the rejection of the Duplomb bill by MPs in France's Assemblée Nationale.
The Duplomb bill is an agriculture bill making its way through parliament that intends to ''remove constraints placed on farmers", in part by allowing for easier access to pesticides. As a result, it has been contested by environmentalists and left-wing politicians.
On Monday, a bloc made up of centrists, the right wing, and the far right deliberately rejected the bill to circumvent the 3,500 amendments that were tabled by the left.
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This means the bill will go directly to a joint committee for debates, and it will do so in the Senate's version of the text, which farming unions have been supportive of.
"It's good news, even if it's difficult to explain. The spectacle isn't encouraging, but what matters is seeing concrete results on our farms," ​​Rousseau told RMC.
Taxis
France's national taxi union (
l'Union nationale des taxis
) on Tuesday also announced they would be decreasing their presence, but they did not say they would suspend protests entirely.
The head of the national taxi union, Rachid Boudjema, told
Franceinfo
that "there will be no action around airports" in France on Tuesday.
"The mobilisation is not weakening. We are still mobilised on the Boulevard Raspail in Paris, and we are waiting for developments," he told the French press.
Unions representing taxi drivers were set to meet with representatives from the French government on Tuesday, with two meetings scheduled for the day. The first was set to be with the Ministry of Transport, and the second would be with the Ministry of Health.
On Saturday, French PM François Bayrou announced that the government would review the health insurance agreement.
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The new agreement intends to save the government €300 million, but it would revise fares for patient transportation in a manner that taxi drivers oppose.
Will protests pick back up?
The head of the farmers' union said that the FNSEA would remain "vigilant" as the farming bill makes its way through parliament. As such, it is possible more protest action could start up again.
As for taxi drivers, continued protests at airports remained possible, depending on the outcome of meetings with the ministries of transport, health, and the actions of the prime minister.
"We'll need a little more than promises," Boudjema told the French press.
Emmanuelle Cordier, the head of another taxi union, the Fédération nationale du taxi (FDNT), told BFMTV on Monday that starting on Wednesday, there would be a "blockade if the meetings are not successful".
You can keep up with updates at The Local's
strike section.