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Local France
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Local France
French farmers suspend protests as taxi drivers scale down airport action
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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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.
Straits Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
French farmers bring tractors to Paris to press for looser rules
Tractors are parked in front of the French parliament, the Assemblee Nationale, as French farmers gather for a protest to call on lawmakers to adopt a bill that would loosen restrictions on pesticide and water use in farming, in Paris, France May 26, 2025. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor Arnaud Rousseau, president of Federation Nationale des Syndicats d'Exploitants Agricoles (FNSEA), speaks to the media in front of the French parliament, the Assemblee Nationale, as French farmers gather for a protest to call on lawmakers to adopt a bill that would loosen restrictions on pesticide and water use in farming, in Paris, France May 26, 2025. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor French farmers protest to call on lawmakers to adopt a bill that would loosen restrictions on pesticide and water use in farming, in Paris, France May 26, 2025. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor Tractors are parked in front of the French parliament, the Assemblee Nationale, as French farmers gather for a protest to call on lawmakers to adopt a bill that would loosen restrictions on pesticide and water use in farming, in Paris, France May 26, 2025. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor PARIS - French farmers disrupted highway traffic around Paris and rallied in front of parliament with their tractors on Monday, protesting against amendments filed by opposition lawmakers to a bill that would loosen environmental regulations on farming. The draft legislation proposes simplifying approvals for breeding facilities and irrigation reservoirs and re-authorising a banned neonicotinoid pesticide used in sugar beet cultivation that environmentalists say is harmful to bees. It is part of a trend in numerous European Union states to unwind environmental legislation as farmers grapple with rising input costs and households struggle with the cost of living. Environmental campaigners and some unions representing small-scale and organic farmers say the bill benefits the large-scale agro industry at the expense of independent operators. President Emmanuel Macron's opponents on the political left have tabled multiple amendments that the protesting farmers said threatened the bill. "We're asking the lawmakers, our lawmakers, to be serious and vote for it as it stands," said Julien Thierry, a grain farmer from the Yvelines department outside Paris, criticising lawmakers from the Greens and left-wing France Unbowed (LFI). Farmers across France and Europe won concessions last year after railing against cheap foreign competition and what they say are unnecessary regulations. On Monday, farmers drove their tractors along at least half a dozen highways leading into Paris, slowing the morning rush-hour traffic. Dozens gathered in front of the National Assembly on the banks of the river Seine as lawmakers debated the bill. The FNSEA farmers union said regulations needed to be simplified for French farming to be more competitive. The union and its allies also say the neonicotinoid pesticide acetamiprid is authorised in the rest of the EU and should be in France, as it is less toxic to wildlife than other neonicotinoids and stops crops being ravaged by pests. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
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First Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Tractors parked outside French National Assembly as farmer protests return to Paris
The demonstrations aim to pressure lawmakers into passing legislation that would ease administrative procedures for building livestock facilities and temporarily lift a ban on the insecticide acetamiprid, according to a report read more Tractors are parked outside the National Assembly as farmers protest regulations imposed on them, on Monday, in Paris. AP French farmers on Monday launched a new wave of protests, parking tractors outside the National Assembly and setting up roadblocks across the country in a show of force ahead of a parliamentary debate over a controversial agricultural bill. According to a Politico report, the demonstrations, organised by powerful farming unions FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs, aim to pressure lawmakers into passing legislation that would ease administrative procedures for building livestock facilities and temporarily lift a ban on the insecticide acetamiprid. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The chemical has been prohibited in France since 2018 due to environmental concerns. These measures reflect long-standing demands from agricultural workers, who staged major nationwide protests last year calling for reduced bureaucracy and more support from the government, added the report. The bill, which has already cleared the Senate, is backed by Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard. However, it faces strong resistance from green and left-wing lawmakers. Critics of the proposed law submitted hundreds of amendments in an apparent attempt to delay or derail Monday's debate in the National Assembly. While most of the agricultural sector appears to support the legislation, at least one left-wing farmers' union has publicly opposed it, citing environmental risks and concerns over pesticide use. FNSEA chief Arnaud Rousseau on Monday said protests will continue until Wednesday but acknowledged that they will be mostly symbolic. 'The aim is not to annoy the French, but to bring the message we put across a year and a half ago, which is that French agriculture is in danger,' Politico quoted Rousseau as saying in an interview with FranceInfo. However, France's left-wing opposition parties — notably France Unbowed and the Greens — have voiced concern that both the French government and the European Union are rolling back too many environmental protections, particularly regarding pesticide regulations, in response to last year's large-scale farmer protests. Meanwhile, EU agriculture ministers are meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss the bloc's Common Agricultural Policy, as well as trade relations with Ukraine and the United States. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD More radical farmers' groups are expected to stage protests in Brussels next week, targeting the EU's environmental regulations and green policies. With inputs from agencies
Local France
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Local France
French farmers' union calls for more protests in May
Arnaud Rousseau, the head of France's leading agricultural union, FNSEA ( Fédération Nationale des Syndicats d'Exploitants Agricoles ) had called for a new wave of mobilisation by farmers starting on Monday, May 26th. Rousseau made the announcement on Thursday morning, noting that the call to action included the Jeune Agriculteurs (JA) union as well. Previous farmers' protests have included motorway blockades and rolling roadblocks, as well as dumping hay or manure in front of government buildings and more symbolic actions such as turning village signs upside down. Advertisement As of Thursday, it was unclear exactly what the actions in late May would entail. The FNSEA boss said French farmers "felt betrayed" by unfulfilled government promises and that the mobilisation of a year and a half ago had not borne fruit. "This is intolerable for us (...) If farmers don't mobilise again, then these promises won't be kept," Rousseau told French news outlet RMC on Thursday morning. In February and March of 2024, farmers' protests brought over 70 of the country's autoroutes to a standstill after widespread rolling roadblocks and blockades. These protests were largely meant to put pressure on France and the EU against certain trade policies French farmers consider to be threatening, such as the 'Mercosur' free trade agreement, which France is still seeking to block. After the 2024 protests, farmers were given certain assurances by the French government, but Rousseau argued that these remain unrealised. "We need to see the concrete action on our farms, for example on the issue of water or on the issue of production. "We believe today, after having demonstrated, worked, and endured everything that's happening politically—four prime ministers in one year—that the answers and promises we've being given have not materialised," Rousseau told RMC. Rousseau also called for people to support the projet de loi Duplomb, 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. The bill will begin to be debated in the Assemblée Nationale from May 26th.
