Farmers in France are on a resolve to get their demands met. Yes, many farmers in France are blocking the streets of the country. What they demand is an action of the government to address the various grievances of the farmers, taking birth due to the spread of the agricultural sector of the European Union. There are a myriad of issues that have led the farmers of France to come to the streets and protest all across the country. Take a look at all these reasons, one by one.
Why are farmers in France protesting?
France stands as the biggest agricultural producer in the European Union. However, what is disturbing the farmers of this huge agricultural producer is that the farmers are being paid sufficiently. Additionally, stringent environmental protection regulations are adding to the reasons.
Some concerns are common to the rest of the European Union as well. However, many reasons are specific to France. What exactly are the reasons for which the farmers of France feel dissatisfied? Let's find out.
First things first, the imports
Imports from Ukraine in large amounts have led the farmers of France to feel dissatisfied regarding unfair competition. These large imports especially in meat, grain, and sugar, are not appreciated much because they pressurize European prices, and do not adhere to the environmental standards that are imposed on the farmers of the European Union.
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Environment rules
Farmers in France are bothered by the subsidy rules of the European Union like the need to leave about 4 percent of the farmland unsown. Additionally, they also dislike the overcomplicated implementation of the European Union policy by France. This hinders the optimal functioning of the farmers.
Finally, the costs
Farmers in France are of the view that the retailers and the government have been attempting hard to pull down inflation, and this has led multiple producers to fail to cover the huge costs of transport, fertilizer, and energy.
Can the government do something?
Well, certainly. The government has vowed to make the procedures easy for the farmers. Farm project approvals, reduced waiting duration for subsidy payments, making the paperwork easy, and more could be some of such procedures.
The government feels obligated to diffuse the crisis as there is the annual Paris farm show in the coming month along with elections in the month of June.
There are some other things that the government could do, such as drop the plan to end the diesel tax break.
The farmers of France are also bothered by the fallow land rule, but changing the fallow land rule would require the approval of the European Union. Whenever farming crises have taken place, the government has provided emergency aid. The government of France has promised funds for the farmers who were impacted by the cattle disease and the floods, and the wine producers who are suffering due to declining consumption.
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