As planned, the National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA), associated with Young Farmers (JA), has set the starting point for the mobilization of its respective members, Monday November 18 or Tuesday November 19, depending on the departments. For the rest of the movement, the timetable is still unclear. As for the modalities of the demonstrations, they are left to the discretion of the departmental sections of the union, the FDSEA. “Everything will depend on the weather, there is still work in the fields”underlined Arnaud Rousseau, president of the FNSEA, Wednesday November 13, during a press conference, also recognizing that the demands were different depending on the regions and sectors. “In Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the level of anger is higher. The situation more tense »he added.
However, he specified that the mobilizations could last until mid-December, or even resume in January, taking place in three stages. For the first act, the national management of the FNSEA suggests gatherings in front of the prefectures as well as on the various “European roundabouts” located in the territory. “We do not want a remake of the “yellow vests””however, affirms Pierrick Horel, president of the JA.
The choice of these places of mobilization is supposed to echo the theme of this first stage, subtitled: “Europe as a sieve”. As for the date of November 18, it corresponds to the opening of the G20 in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, a summit during which the trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia) should be mentioned. His promoters believe his signing is imminent.
“The cessation of constraints”
By anchoring its mobilization on this subject, the FNSEA joins the other agricultural unions, the Rural Coordination and the Peasant Confederation, which have been fighting for years not only against this agreement with Mercosur but more generally against all free trade agreements which , according to them, penalize European agriculture. Mr. Rousseau is more nuanced, since he rejects the agreement with Mercosur “as is”. The FNSEA also mentions other European subjects, such as tax reductions on Ukrainian imports, the pressure exerted by China on sales of cognac, pork or dairy products from the Twenty-Seven or the fear of a new taxation imposed by the Trump government affecting the European agri-food sector.
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