Head of Rassemblement National list defends CAP, criticises Green Deal

Jordan Bardella, the head of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) list for the upcoming EU elections, reiterated his desire to remain part of the EU’s agricultural policy while criticising the “diminishing” project of the Green Pact for Europe at the Paris International Agricultural Show on Sunday.

“The Common Agricultural Policy is better than nothing […] it’s not ideal, but it’s going in the right direction”, said MEP Bardella.

The day before, French President Emmanuel Macron received a very hostile reception from farmers, which included whistling and booing. At the time, he accused the most virulent farmers of being there to “serve the Rassemblement National”, referring in particular to members of the Coordination Rural, a right-wing union that denies any links with the RN.

“French agriculture deserves better than their project of degrowth and stupidity, which consists of explaining to people that the solution would be to leave Europe”, but “if there is no Europe, there is no agriculture”, insisted the head of state.

On Sunday, Bardella was keen to reassure everyone that he wanted to stay in the European Union and the single market. “We have to push from within,” he insisted, even taking responsibility for voting with his group in the EU Parliament (ID) for the brand new CAP in 2021.

In his view, the CAP has moved “in the right direction,” with the possibility of member states’ allocating funds within their territory – in the National Strategic Plans (NSPs) framework.

RN urges Macron to block a second Von der Leyen mandate

On the other hand, he did not hesitate to attack the Green Deal, notably the Farm to Fork strategy, which aims to reduce pesticide use by 50%, fertiliser use by 20%, and achieve a 25% organic area by 2030.

“For the past seven years, [Emmanuel Macron] has supported the Farm to Fork strategy, which aims to reduce agricultural yields by 15-20%”, Jordan Bardella told a farmer as he strolled along.

“If Macron is sincere in defending agriculture, he should veto a second term for Ursula von der Leyen at the head of the Commission, who in five years has advocated agricultural degrowth through punitive ecology”, he added.

Von der Leyen, who recently stood for re-election in 2024, will have to face a vote in the European Parliament. She has also initiated a strategic dialogue to slow down progress on the Green Deal in agriculture.

As part of his change of “European software”, Bardella also announced that it would be necessary to “introduce economic patriotism” and establish a French “agricultural exception”. To achieve this, he wants free trade agreements. In particular, he has pledged to reject the latest one negotiated between the EU and Chile.

“Protectionism in agriculture is not possible”, Arnaud Rousseau, head of the FNSEA, the majority union, retorted on RTL on Sunday evening. In his view, this would jeopardise French exports of wine, milk and cereals, which balance the national trade.

Bardella will be at the Paris Agricultural Show for two more days until Monday evening to try to win over the electorate. In the last election, almost 30% of farmers voted for Macron.

(Hugo Struna | Euractiv.fr)