The European commissioners of Ursula von der Leyen's new team have been in Brussels on the grill of the European Parliament since Monday, before a final vote expected on November 27. And this exercise, usually technical and political, turned emotional on the evening of the first day.
The hearing of the candidate for the post of European Commissioner for Agriculture, Luxembourger Christophe Hansen, was indeed marked by the description of a sad reality when he spoke to MEPs of the death of his farmer brother.
A brother dead at 55
Asked by a MEP about the suicide rate of farmers and their mental suffering, Christophe Hansen paused, confiding that he had “a little problem responding”. In front of parliamentarians, he then recounted the death of his farmer brother, who died of a fall down the stairs at age 55 last year.
“It wasn't a mental health issue, but I'm sure it was linked to many factors that affect farmers,” such as “financial difficulties” and fatigue. Christophe Hansen mentioned his brother's divorce, the incessant work, the pressure from the banks and his difficulties in confiding.
A farmer suicide every two days in France
Farmers are “subject to particular pressure, we must take this into account,” he stressed. There is “the suicide rate” but also these accidents because they do not “rest”. “It’s unacceptable” and “it’s killing me”, “sorry”, he concluded on this subject, clearly moved, before being applauded by a large part of the room.
There is a farmer suicide every two days in France, according to a study on this subject, carried out in 2017 by Public Health France. And according to reports from the National Health Data System (SNDS), valid for the period 2017-2021, suicide mortality among farmers is more than 30% higher than that of other workers.
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