France ‘hypocritical’ to blame Brussels for farmers’ problems – experts

In deflecting blame for farmers’ malaise to Brussels, by pointing the finger at the EU’s trade policy and ‘red tape’, the French government runs the risk of coming across as “hypocritical”, with little political gain.

France’s newly-appointed prime minister Gabriel Attal announced in a speech at the National Assembly on Tuesday (30 January) that he would “simplify norms that restrain farmers’ actions”, “’de-bureaucratise’ France” and “continue protecting [farmers] from unfair competition,’ as protests roar on.

Farmers say they can’t cope any longer with prices far lower than production costs, a disadvantageous negotiating position with manufacturers and retailers further up the value chain, the weight of complex regulations, and unfair trade practices with other countries.

Part of the regulatory weight Attal wants to see gone is France-made – but the government is hinting it may have a go at EU rules too.

The Elysée reiterated its opposition to a future EU-Mercosur trade deal on Monday (29 January), a topic expected to be brought up as French President Emmanuel Macron meets with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at the European Council Summit on Thursday (1 February).

Meanwhile, French agriculture minister Marc Fesneau is expected in Brussels on Wednesday (31 January) to “tackle European emergencies”. He should ask member states to continue putting on hold an EU requirement that a section of land on each agricultural site be left unfarmed to protect biodiversity.

Farmers’ protests are France’s first EU campaign battleground

Road blockades across the country and growing exasperation from farmers are shaping up to be the first major political test for EU election candidates in France, as they attempt to court the agricultural community.

Trap of hypocrisy

“The EU often draws resentment – forgetting that Europe is also France,” Gaspard Gantzer, a communications consultant and former comms chief to then-President François Hollande, told Euractiv.

Lashing out against EU norms and Brussels’ trade policy agenda is somewhat hypocritical, Théo Verdier, EU observatory director at the Jean-Jaurès Foundation, a think tank, told Euractiv: “On the one hand, [the government] says no to the EU-Mercosur trade deal. On the other, it voted in favour of a similar EU-New Zealand deal in December”.

Any structural response to the farmers’ protests is European by essence, the expert contends, but pointing the finger at Brussels and the Green Deal, hoping for an uptick in polls, is not the right way forward.

Pascal Canfin, French Renew MEP and Chair of the Environment Committee at the European Parliament, told L’Opinion: “I disagree with the idea that the cause of current problems is linked to the Green Deal: none of [its agricultural elements] have come into force.”

The problem is deeper and of an institutional nature, Verdier highlighted.

“If you ask French citizens about a review of EU rules for farmers’, you can expect an overwhelming ‘yes’ response that transcends party lines. But in Brussels, where free and fair competition is at the core of everything, there is a genuine lack of understanding,” he added.

According to polls, 87% of French people are supportive of the farmers’ protests; 92% have a ‘positive’ appreciation of farmers.

Meanwhile, as trade policy, an exclusive EU competence, gets denounced in protests not just in France but across the continent, the Commission continues with “technical talks” on a possible EU-Mercosur deal.

“It’s about the institutional structure, and general organisation, of EU institutions,” Verdier said, adding he hopes this crisis will unlock a new impetus for EU institutional reform.

Food as movies: The agricultural exception is gaining traction in France

France’s far-right Rassemblement National and far-left LFI are proposing to introduce a form of ‘agricultural exception’ – which, as is already the case for the arts, would exempt some agricultural products from the EU’s free trade agreements with other countries.

Key voting issues

As EU elections near, the government is doing all it can to rally farmers. It’s so far managed to stay clear of the far-right’s draw towards a binary pro/anti-EU debate – but for how long still?

“Blaming it all on EU norms just won’t work,” Joséphine Staron, head of research at Synopsia, a think tank, told Euractiv.

In her view, people’s vote decisions in June will be influenced by economic and purchasing power matters.

Start bashing the EU, and there is “a genuine risk to fall into far-right narratives”, she said.

Meanwhile, far-right lead candidate Jordan Bardella wants the government to give up on the Green Deal entirely.

“We may want to change Europe in the interest of the country, and that’s what we’re doing. But we cannot just want to leave the EU altogether,” Attal said on Tuesday.

[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]