French farmers have ended their blockades, but the protest isn't over
French farmers may have called off their protests in response to last week's government concessions, but some remain mobilised – arguing the fundamental reasons behind their action have still not been addressed.
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“It's always good if you have less of an administrative burden,” says farmer Genevieve Savigny about the government’s promises of better pay and less red tape.
The government also said it would delay France’s plan to phase out pesticides – a move the European Union took as well.
“It makes you believe you'll be on a level playing field with other countries that use these chemicals,” Savigny adds.
“But it does not address the root of the problem, which is to ensure a decent income for all farmers and to give a long-term vision to farming.”
More on the farmers' protest in the Spotlight on France podcast:
Small-scale farming
Savigny has a small free-range chicken farm in the southern Alps, and her son grows lavender and wheat.
A self-described “peasant farmer”, she's a member of the Confederation Paysanne – a union representing small-scale farmers that supports sustainable farming practices, including the phasing out of pesticides.
While Savigny did not join the farmers heading to Paris, she did participate in local actions to highlight the problems with imported honey and its impact on local production.
The Confederation Paysanne disagreed with the main FNSEA union when it called off the blockades after the government delayed the pesticide plan and offered €400 million in aid to farmers.
“The leaders of the FNSEA obtained from the government responses linked to thir personal interest as speculative agri-managers,” the union wrote in a statement.
“This also allowed the government to absolve itself from addressing the central question of this uprising: income.”
Low income, low prices
Because of variations between types of farmers – winegrowers versus livestock versus larger grain farms – it is difficult to calculate exact incomes.
Figures from the Insee national statistics agency show the average household income for farmers in 2021 was 1,910 euros a month.
However many farmers earned much less than that, with 15 percent declaring no income and 18 percent declaring incomes below the poverty line.
Income comes from selling products, and there has been a long-standing tension between farmers looking to cover their production costs and supermarket chains negotiating lower prices.
“The supermarkets always try to push prices down,” says Savigny, who has always sold directly to consumers at markets, but recognises this is not a model for everyone.
Retailers need to be pushed to pay farmers correctly. The EGalim law – intended to ensure fair practices during annual negotiations between producers and distributors – is a first step, but the law can go farther and is also not fully implemented.
“We are asking for laws that would make it impossible for retailers or processors to pay below production costs,” Savigny says, pointing to the example of Spain, which she says has adapted a European law in a stricter way than other countries to move in this direction.
Free trade
Another issue is international trade agreements that affect small farmers all over the world.
Last week France said it would pull out of the Mercosur trade agreement that has been negotiated for nearly two decades between the European Union and Latin American countries.
The agreement would allow Europe to export things like cars and biotechnology and, in return, it would allow in agricultural products such as dairy and beef.
“The Mercosur agreement risks weakening some sectors, notably sheep and cattle farmers,” economist Antoine Bouët, who has written about globalisation, told RFI.
Free trade agreements by necessity must balance the needs of different sectors.
“You cannot separate out farming from other sectors,” he says. “It’s difficult to impose a treaty on South Americans that would open their borders to industry, and we would concede nothing on agriculture.”
What kind of farming?
Ultimately, the crisis for French – and European – farmers, is made up of many parts, that have to do with trade, environmental regulations and food sovereignty.
“We’ve respond to the crisis with emergency measures,” Herve Guyomard, economist with the French national institute for agricultural research, INRA, told RFI.
But the emergency measures “do not resolve the structural problem, which is the transition of our farming and food systems, particularly their decarbonisation, like in all sectors, which needs resources”.
Underlying all of these issues is a fundamental question of what form farming should take in France and in Europe.
Most French farms are small; nearly 60 percent are individually owned with an average surface of 69 hectares.
But the world is moving towards a more industrial, consolidated system.
“Europe and France are pushing for the industrial model, or at least a model that is linked to the industrialisation of the food system,” says Savigny.
Those who are fighting against this move are facing an uphill battle.
“We are not trying to be competitive for an international market,” she says.
“What we want is to be able to feed local people at decent prices in the long term and to do this using sustainable methods.”
For more on the farmers' protest, listen to the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 106.
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