French agricultural unions have announced that farmers’ protests will continue if their demands are not met, reports AFP.
Unions are demanding concrete action from the Government regarding their grievances, including excessive financial costs and environmental regulations as well as insufficient prices for their products.
FNSEA union leader Arno Russo said after last night’s meeting with French Prime Minister Gabriel Atal that protests will be organized throughout the week, as long as necessary, if the government does not take concrete measures.
He warned that the protests would affect every part of France.
“Tensions are getting stronger, which is why we need concrete measures,” he said.
The meeting with Atal came after the French Minister of Agriculture announced that the long-awaited reform in the sector had been postponed again, which worsened the situation.
The leader of the Young Farmers’ Union, Arno Gayo, who was also at the meeting with Atala, told “France Two” television that this could be the beginning of a mass action by farmers if the Government’s response is not satisfactory.
In addition to financial costs and environmental regulations, farmers are also angered by progressive tax increases on non-road diesel essential to their operation.
Laurence Marandola, spokesman for the Confederation of Farmers, the third largest agricultural union in France, told AFP that the main problem is the price, that is, insufficient income for farmers due to low product prices.
“The price of the product is actually the main moment of the crisis for us,” she pointed out.
