Latest news with #AssembleeNationale
The Star
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
French farm bill sparks record-breaking petition signatures
FILE PHOTO: 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/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) -A petition against a French farm bill loosening environmental rules for farming, including over the use of a pesticide accused of harming bees, has set a record for signatures, increasing pressure on the government to revisit the law. Launched by a 23-year-old student this month, the petition poses a fresh challenge for President Emmanuel Macron, already under strain over his cost-cutting budget. It had gathered 1.3 million signatures by Monday morning, becoming the first petition on the National Assembly website to surpass 500,000. In France, petitions with over half a million signatures can prompt a parliamentary debate, but do not require a new vote. National Assembly chairwoman Yael Braun-Pivet and former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal are among those who have said they would back a debate. The draft law, proposed by conservative Laurent Duplomb, would reauthorise the use of neonicotinoid pesticide acetamiprid, one of a group that European food safety agency EFSA has assessed as representing a risk to bees. It also aims to simplify approvals for livestock breeding facilities, and to ease irrigation rules. The petition, however, calls it a "scientific, ethical, environmental, and health aberration". French farmers protested in Paris in May against amendments filed by opposition lawmakers to the bill, which it said would help them compete with EU peers. France is the EU's top sugar beet grower and home to major producers such as Tereos and Cristal Union. Growers argue that acetamiprid, allowed in other EU countries, is vital to fight yellows disease, which cut yields by 30% in 2020 and slashed sugar output. "We need to maintain our means of production, and I believe there's a lot of exaggeration in the comments being made," the head of France's largest farm union FNSEA Arnaud Rousseau told franceinfo radio. The government defended the bill, but acknowledged the outcry. "We must listen (to this petition)," government spokesperson Sophie Primas said. "Perhaps we haven't explained or reassured enough. The aim of this law is to put French farmers back on an equal footing with their European counterparts." (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide and Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Jan Harvey)
The Star
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
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 PARIS (Reuters) - 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. (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide, Gus Trompiz and Lauren Bacquie; editing by Richard Lough and Philippa Fletcher)
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.
