A big debate that turns into a quack. Friday February 23, the president of the FNSEA Arnaud Rousseau announced on BFMTV that he would not participate in the dialogue desired by Emmanuel Macron with the agricultural world at the Agricultural Show, on its opening day, Saturday. At issue: the invitation – since withdrawn – to the Earth Uprising collective.

“It sends the image back to farmers that ultimately nothing has been understood about their problems,” said Mr. Rousseau, head of the majority agricultural union. “I will not be the actor in something that I consider particularly cynical and which does not allow dialogue in good conditions.”

“I do not expect the President of the Republic to provide us with the exegesis and technique of his announcements. I expect the President of the Republic to carry his vision,” Mr. Rousseau further explained.

Late Thursday afternoon, the presidency announced its intention to organize a major exchange between the Head of State and “all stakeholders in the agricultural world”, Saturday, “to outline the future » of the sector. But the organization of this debate modeled on the model of the major discussions set up during the “yellow vest” crisis was quickly thwarted by the refusal of the president of the FNSEA to see the participation of Les Uprisings of the Earth, which the government wanted. dissolution a few months ago.

“Masquerade” and “deception”

“The invitation by the PR [President of the Republic] to

The invitation of the collective, described as “ecoterrorist” by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, also provoked the anger of the president of the Young Farmers Arnaud Gaillot. “There is no debate possible with these violent people,” he posted on X, also refusing to participate.

The Elysée finally decided to backpedal and announced that the movement was no longer invited “to guarantee the serenity of the debates”. However, the presidency wanted “open, frank and transparent” exchanges, “without filter”, “in a republican state of mind”.

“Arnaud Rousseau put pressure not to come face to face with us and Macron went to bed,” Les Uprisings of the Earth reacted on X on Friday morning, adding: “Let him be reassured: we would not have participated to this deception, but thanks for the show! “.

“Sketch the future”

The debate must last at least two hours and is supposed to bring together the main leaders of the agricultural unions (FNSEA, Young Farmers, Rural Coordination, Peasant Confederation, etc.), but also representatives of mass distribution and industrialists. Several leaders of environmental associations are also invited, such as the Climate Action and Future Generations Network. “All stakeholders will be able to give their point of view, make proposals, compare ideas,” promised the presidency.

The delays surrounding this debate come as farmers, angry for several weeks, maintain pressure on the government. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal will travel to Charente-Maritime on Friday, where he will visit the Royan market and then meet farmer representatives. On Wednesday, Mr. Attal summarized the dozens of commitments and projects already launched to respond to the anger of the agricultural world. New measures were announced on visas for foreign seasonal workers, pesticides, with the abandonment of a controversial indicator, and remuneration.

These declarations do not prevent several protest actions throughout France. Two tractor parades are planned for Friday in Paris. The first, organized by Rural Coordination, will end around noon near Les Invalides. The second, led by the FNSEA and the Young Farmers, will end in front of the Agricultural Show in the early evening, with a weapons vigil planned before the doors open on Saturday.

On Thursday, around twenty actions took place in the territory (blockades of platforms, logistics bases, motorway interchanges, among others), a third of which had been initiated since Wednesday, according to a police source. Prefectures and sub-prefectures were also targeted. According to a police source, Spanish farmers are considering blockades at the border with France next week, hoping to be joined by French farmers.

Brussels again presented new proposals on Thursday to ease “the pressure” on farms, which relax the rules on meadows, limit the number of checks and grant a certain tolerance in the event of non-compliance with the rules of the common agricultural policy ( PAC) during extreme climatic episodes. These measures, likely to be adopted as early as March, will be examined on Monday by the agriculture ministers of the Twenty-Seven.

The FNSEA recognizes that the show presents itself this year “as an eminently political time”. Farmers are “strongly mobilized and attentive to the advances that will be presented to them,” says the union in a press release, but the organization also wants the event to remain a “festive time.”