Macron to Take French Farmers’ Grievances to EU President

A French farmer takes part in a road block protest on the A4 highway next to a tractor with a placard reading "Death is in the field" near Jossigny, east of Paris, on Jan. 29, 2024, amid nationwide protests called by several farmers unions on pay, tax and regulations. Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images

French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to take the grievances aired by his country’s farmers to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

For the last few weeks, farmers across France have been calling on the government to reverse a range of uncompetitive regulations and laws that are harming their livelihoods.

As part of the ongoing protests, farmers have blocked major highways, including to the capital, dumped manure at government offices, and taken a host of other actions to pressure their leaders to act.

After earlier attempts by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal failed to placate the protestors, Mr. Macron finally stepped in.

According to a media statement from his office, the French president will meet with Ms. von der Leyen on Feb. 1 in Brussels to discuss the ongoing crisis in the agricultural world.

Many farmers in France and beyond are enraged by the European Union’s (EU) 2023 nature restoration law, which requires member countries to introduce environmental measures on roughly a fifth of their land by 2030. This requires around 4 percent of farmland to remain fallow, leaving tracts of land without crops for one or more growing cycles, severely cutting into farmers’ production capabilities.

According to France’s farming minister, Marc Fesneau, Mr. Macron will push for changes to this EU legislation to help address these concerns when he meets with Ms. von der Leyen.

Mr. Fesneau said he would also be in attendance at the meeting in a bid to soften the EU environmental regulations.

Protests Pressure Govt to Act

Arnaud Rousseau, head of one of the largest farmers unions in France, the FNSEA (Fédération Nationale des Syndicats d'Exploitants Agricoles), said the protests were about ensuring those in charge couldn’t ignore them, which it seems they have achieved.

“Our target is not to annoy French people or to make their lives difficult, but to put pressure on the government,” he said.

“What we have understood though is that as long as the protest is far from Paris, the message is not getting through.”

Among the protesting farmers, other concerns are not receiving a fair price for their produce and having little to no protection against supermarkets buying cheaper imports.

France’s agricultural workers have also flagged low pensions and the phasing-out of a tax break on diesel fuels as unacceptable.

French government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot has announced that “new measures” will soon be implemented by Mr. Fesneau to address the ongoing concerns of farmers.

The government has already scrapped the plans to reduce state subsidies on agricultural diesel and promised a reduction in red tape and an easing of environmental regulations.

Mr. Attal is set to meet with representatives of farming unions as well, including the FNSEA and the Jeunes Agriculteurs, the two largest farming unions in the country, in the hopes of coming to an agreement.

Protests have been spreading across agricultural heartlands in the European Union in recent weeks, with farmers sharing similar concerns about the restrictive environmental regulations and increases in taxes on diesel fuel.

So far, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, and Romania have all seen strike action taken by its agricultural sector.