MPs began examining the government’s agricultural bill on Wednesday, May 15, largely rejecting a motion to reject the environmental group which aimed to cut short the debates. The motion was rejected by obtaining only 84 votes, while 224 deputies voted against.
Rewritten to respond to the winter anger of farmers, the government text intends to respond to the two “immense challenges” posed to this sector: the “demographic challenge”, while, “within ten years, almost half of the heads of operation could retire”; the challenge of adapting to “the great upheavals of the century”, such as “climate change”, “biodiversity issues”, “geopolitical risks”, explained the Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau.
MP Marie Pochon (Drôme, Europe Ecologie-Les Verts) defended her group’s motion, castigating the government’s “craps”, and a law continuing the “unraveling begun of environmental law rather than finally triggering the massive transition to organic farming, which was not even mentioned in the original bill.”
La France insoumise (LFI), the socialists and the communists added their voices to those of the environmentalists. “In partnership with the management of the FNSEA, the only union that campaigns for the disappearance of its own members, you have set your course: that of the planned collapse of family farming for the benefit of agribusiness,” Loïc lambasted Prud’homme (Gironde, LFI).
“An inept law”
The president of the PCF group, André Chassaigne (Puy-de-Dôme) denounced the government’s support for free trade agreements which “condemn our agriculture”, while the socialist Dominique Potier (Meurthe-et-Moselle) criticized a “inept” law, which does not answer the central question of “land”, while “in the next ten years” a “third of the agricultural area of our country will change hands”.
While opposing the motion, the National Rally mocked a “text which stands out for its vacuity”: “Nothing in this bill on unfair competition, nothing on overtranspositions [of French law in relation to European law ], nothing on agricultural decline and especially nothing on remunerative prices” for farmers, criticized Grégoire de Fournas (Gironde). “Our vote against this rejection motion in no way prejudges the very negative opinion that we have on this bill and which, barring a miracle by then, will be expressed during the final vote,” warned the deputy .
MP Francis Dubois (Corrèze, Les Républicains) strongly criticized the “dogmatic” vision of environmentalists, hoping that the discussion would make it possible to improve the bill. The review of the text is scheduled until May 22.