The executive had already proposed 70 initiatives at the beginning of the year, marked by farmers’ protests. But the new measures announced, in a statement, by the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, are treasury support, such as access to loans, which can reach 75,000 euros, and the acceleration of irrigation and water storage projects.
The Government intends reduce farmers’ cash flow, thanks to a plan implemented through the public investment bank Bpifrance, “worth 100 million euros”, a process that involves the granting of “direct cash loans of up to 75 thousand euros” and the guarantee of “commercial bank loans of up to 200 thousand euros for agricultural holdings in difficulty”.
According to the Chief Executive, These measures “specify and complete the 67 commitments already formalized on January 26, 2024 and complete the additional work requested by the President of the Republic at the opening of the 2024 Agricultural Exhibition”.
On the table is also a plan to support some of the areas most affected by the drought. And the Government also wants to have a new version of `Ecophyto` ready by May, a plan to reduce pesticides that was contested by the sector.
It is also worth highlighting, among the proposals in the statement, the reform of agricultural pensions, whose technical implementation was debated, and which will be applied in 2026.
The measures were welcomed by the Young Farmers union and the National Federation of Agricultural Operators Unions, which promise to be “extremely vigilant” to monitor the implementation of these measures.
The two unions, in a joint note cited by the French press, “they now consider that the phase of work following the mobilizations that began last November is coming to an end and that the third phase of monitoring the concrete implementation of each of the measures has begun”. The unions also call on “all deputies to demonstrate responsibility in translating all these advances into the laws that are currently under analysis or that will come”.
Remember that in January, French farmers took to the streets, asking the executive for more support. The protests lost strength after the Government announced on February 1st a set of measures for the sector.
With agencies
