French farmers have squatted in front of parliament and staged protests against amendments introduced by opposition lawmakers to a bill that would loosen farming regulations.
Members of France’s top farming union, the FNSEA, parked about 10 tractors outside the National Assembly on Monday to appoint pressure on the assemblymembers, who dwelt in the afternoon to discuss the legislation.
The legislation, which is being introduced by far-right MP Laurent Duplomb, proposes lowering water usage restrictions to encourage irrigation reservoirs, reauthorizing a prohibited neonicotinoid pesticide used in sugar beet cultivation, as well as simplifying approvals for breeding facilities.
The proposed law is a part of a wider trend to repeal environmental laws as more and more farmers deal with rising costs and struggling families deal with the cost-of-living crisis in numerous European Union states.
After blocking the main roads around the capital, more than 150 farmers from the Ile-de-France, Grand Est, and Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur regions gathered peacefully in front of the National Assembly to enjoy coffee and croissants.
Herve Lapie, the secretary-general of FNSEA, told the AFP news agency, “This bill to lift the limitations on the farming profession is very important to us.”
“We are simply requesting that we be able to work within a single market and set of regulations.” For 20 years, we have fought for this. There is a bill that fits this description once more. We don’t want to wait any longer because we can’t.
The FNSEA and its allies argue that the neonicotinoid pesticide acetamiprid, which has been banned in France since 2018 due to concerns for the environment and health, should be allowed to do so in France like it has throughout the EU because it is less toxic to wildlife than other neonicotinoids and prevents pest-ravaged crops.
The bill favors the large-scale agriculture sector over independent operators, according to environmental activists and unions representing small- and organic farmers.
The political left’s opposition to President Emmanuel Macron’s proposals for numerous amendments threatened the bill, according to farmers in protest.
A grain farmer from the Yvelines department outside Paris, Julien Thierry, a critic of politicians from the Greens and the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI), told The Associated Press news agency, “We’re asking the lawmakers, our lawmakers, to be serious and vote for it as it stands.”
The bill’s text is “Trump-inspired,” according to LFI MP Aurelie Trouve in an article for the French daily Le Monde. It represents “a political capitulation, one that marks an ecological junction,” according to Delphine Batho, a member of the Ecologists’ party.
Farmers from the Centre-Val de Loire and Hauts-de-France regions were expected to join their colleagues until Wednesday, according to FNSEA chief Arnaud Rousseau, who announced protests would continue until Wednesday.
Next week in Brussels, protests are anticipated that will focus on EU environmental laws and policies.
Source: Aljazeera
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