Latest news with #Duplomb
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.
Euronews
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
French farmers protest as parliament clashes over agriculture bill
Hundreds of farmers descended on Paris on Monday, bringing their tractors - and their frustration - straight to the gates of the French National Assembly. Their goal was to support a divisive piece of legislation tabled by far-right MP Laurent Duplomb. The Duplomb agricultural bill promises to ease what many in the agricultural field see as suffocating administrative constraints. It would make it easier to obtain construction permits for livestock facilities and water reservoirs, and re-authorise the temporary use of certain pesticides such as acetamiprid; a neonicotinoid insecticide banned in France since 2018. While still allowed in other European Union countries, acetamiprid has raised alarms among environmentalists and beekeepers due to its impact on pollinators and potential health risks for humans. The bill was scheduled for debate, followed by a vote in the lower house of parliament on Monday. But opposition lawmakers, mostly from the green and left-wing parties, submitted around 3,500 amendments in an attempt to delay proceedings. With debate threatened by legislative gridlock, centrist, conservative, and far-right lawmakers passed a motion to dismiss debating the bill in parliament. The proposal now moves to a joint committee of seven senators and seven members of parliament (MPs) - most of them supportive of the farmers' demands. The committee will have to agree on a common version that will then be subjected to a final vote by MPs - this time, without the possibility of any amendments. The move has infuriated the left, which has announced plans to file a no-confidence motion against the government in response. For many of the farmers present at the protest, this bill represents a chance to ease mounting pressures, both economic and regulatory. Clément Patoir, a 19-year-old grain farmer, described how bureaucratic red tape is driving young people away from the craft. "There are fewer young people who want to become farmers nowadays. Many children of farmers have to constantly hear about their parents struggling with regulations. It is a complicated job, you work long hours, and you're not necessarily rewarded." "The majority of French farmers are trying to survive. What we all want is to live and not survive. So, fewer constraints and simplification would be much appreciated," Patoir told Euronews. Another young sugar beet farmer, Pierrick, said that the bill is about maintaining production levels. The acetamiprid pesticide is considered essential by many sugar beet and hazelnut producers. "Today, all the methods of production to produce as much as we can are gradually being taken away from us. In addition, we always have administrative constraints that add to our workload ... But to maintain the levels of production that we have, no, there is no alternative today that works," he explained. Supporters of the bill argue that easing restrictions will be critical to avoiding reliance on imports and keeping France's agricultural sector competitive. But environmentalists and left-wing lawmakers see the bill as dangerous. Among those gathered in Paris to oppose it was Gabriel Bertein, a left-wing mayor, who warned of long-term damage to biodiversity and soil health. "If this kind of bill does pass, this will be a sign we are going backwards. We open the doors to more use of pesticide products that we know are dangerous to life," he told Euronews while being heckled by a group of farmers. He added that state funding should shift toward more sustainable farming practices. "We must stop helping and subsidising a type of intensive agriculture that is not going in the right direction. There is an urgent need to change direction, to focus on these topics." Demonstrations are also planned in Brussels next week, targeting the EU's environmental rules and green policy agenda. Greece has said it has completed work on an undersea power cable connecting the mainland to the island of Crete, a key step in its ambitious plan for a wider expansion of the grid that will eventually include Cyprus and Israel. The €1 billion link spanning 330 kilometres was plugged in on Saturday and is expected to be fully operational this summer, Greece's grid operator said. The project, for which the European Union provided the bulk of funding through grants and loans, aims to bolster energy diversification after after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Athens hopes to extend the link, dubbed the Great Sea Interconnector, to Cyprus and Israel by the end of the decade. The project is also a move towards Crete being able to replace fossil fuel-based power generation with renewables, government officials said. "Crete is becoming a central pillar for the country's energy transition," Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou said. "We're moving forward with the development of an integrated network of electrical interconnections, strengthening our country as a strategic energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean." However, the wider project has been complicated by financial disagreements and an ongoing maritime dispute with Turkey. Greece and Egypt also want to establish a separate undersea link on a similar timetable that would bypass the island of Crete and connect directly to the Greek mainland. The undersea cables to Crete have been laid at a depth of 1,200 metres and will support a capacity of 1,000 megawatts using high-voltage direct current transmission systems. Supervised by a subsidiary of Greece's Independent Power Transmission Operator, the project involved private contractors Siemens Energy of Germany, Greek construction firm TERNA and the Italy-based Prysmian Group cable company, among others.
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.
