Agricultural Show: Emmanuel Macron inaugurates the show under the whistles… follow our live

| February 24, 2024 | Business | No Comments

Agricultural Show: Emmanuel Macron inaugurates the show under the whistles... follow our live

Emmanuel Macron face à une cinquantaine d'agriculteurs, en marge de l'ouverture du salon de l'agriculture. MAXPPP – LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL

Clashes broke out this Saturday morning between farmers and the security service before the arrival of the President of the Republic at the Porte de Versailles. While his visit seems threatened, Emmanuel Macron made announcements following a closed-door meeting with the unions. 

The President of the Republic cut the ribbon, inaugurating the agricultural show at 1:30 p.m. In the morning, clashes broke out, before his arrival, between the police and many angry farmers. Emmanuel Macron spoke with the unions during a closed-door meeting, before improvising a debate with around fifty farmers.

4:32 p.m.

The president is still at the agricultural show

If he takes a break to eat, the head of state is always in the aisles of the agricultural show. However, calm has returned to the largest farm in France and visitors can wander around peacefully.

4:16 p.m.

Irène Tolleret: “who has done so much for agriculture ?”

Renaissance MEP Irène Tolleret took part in the debate with the farmers. The Héraultaise found Emmanuel Macon “courageous”. His reaction in three videos with our journalist Yannick Povillon.

4:12 p.m.

“I gave him the truth on the ground”, Frédéric Cavagna was facing the President

Gard winegrower, Frédéric Cavagna took part in the debate with Emmanuel Macron, where he told him of his economic difficulties. Our reporter at the show, Yannick Povillon, found him.

4:07 p.m.

The Uprisings of the Earth confirm having been approached by the Elysée

While President Macron continues his tour of the stands at the agricultural show, the Earth Uprising movement confirmed to Le Parisien that the Elysée had indeed approached him to participate in a debate, which the head of the State categorically denied this morning. Evoking contacts through the offices of Pascal Canfin and Gabriel Attal, the movement indicates that it would not have participated in this debate in any case, “a charade which has no other objective than to extinguish the agricultural rebellion in progress”.

3:16 p.m.

Four arrests this morning

At the end of the scuffles, four people were arrested by the police. According to information from Le Parisien, three of them have been released, a fourth is being presented.

2:52 p.m.

” Meet peacefully to discuss the livestock sector”

After visiting his stand, Yves Chassany, president of the Aubrac breed union, reveals what he said to the President of the Republic.

2:46 p.m.

The message from the organizers

While the President of the Republic continues his tour of the stands, the organization of the Agricultural Show communicates on the events of the morning: “This morning, as organizers of the International Agricultural Show, we feel a double sadness: The solidarity of seeing the difficulties of the agricultural world continue. The emotional one of seeing the Show disrupted in its operations. This is our 60th edition! Let's collectively stay the course, we owe it to visitors and exhibitors alike. 600,000 visitors are expected! 12,000 people work every day at the Show! 4,000 animals show off their finest attire…The most important thing is to create vocations to find the foot soldiers of tomorrow's food sovereignty. The Show will always be stronger than the Salon!”

2:17 p.m.

Emmanuel Macron on the Aubrac stand

During his stroll, the Head of State stopped for a while at the Aubrac breed stand, as our journalist observed on site.

2:03 p.m.

The Head of State continues his walk in the aisles

Back to tradition. Emmanuel Macron takes the time to chat with exhibitors, taste certain products or pet the animals. The only difference with previous years is that this visit takes place under the whistles.

1:38 p.m.

The president begins a stroll under the whistles

Under the whistles of demonstrators kept aside, protected by numerous bodyguards, Emmanuel Macron begins a stroll and exchanges with farmers who talk about their difficulty. One of them asks in particular to review the wolf plan, to deal with the farms which are suffering attacks.

1:32 p.m.

The ribbon is cut

The agricultural show is officially open. With three cuts of the scissors, the President of the Republic cut the ribbon. He now approaches farmers to chat with them.

1:31 p.m.

“Bravo, a perfect sequence”

While the President of the Republic greets the different personalities before cutting the ribbon, European MP Irène Tolleret kisses him and congratulates him. “Well done, really well done, a perfect sequence,” she told him. In the distance, still the whistles.

1:26 p.m.

Emmanuel Macron will inaugurate the agricultural show

The President of the Republic finally descends into the aisles. He has just arrived at the place where the inauguration ceremony is to take place. Behind a cordon of CRS, the farmers start blowing their whistles again.

1:03 p.m.

The reaction of the president of rural coordination

“As president of the Rural Coordination, I cannot tell our members, our supporters, who did not participate in our exchanges, not to demonstrate”, announcement on BFM TV, Véronique Le Floc'h. The whistles will therefore continue to be heard.

12:51 p.m.

Floating in the living room

While the debate was followed in the aisles of the show, anger continues to rumble. The farmers gathered at the foot of the floor where Emmanuel Macron is located begin the Marseillaise and continue to chant slogans and whistles, despite the announcements of the Head of State.

12:39 p.m.

Whistles in hall 1

As the debate ends, whistles are heard again in the aisles of the agricultural show. The police are once again in position near the place where the President of the Republic is to preside over the inauguration. “Macron, resign”, shout some farmers.

12:37 p.m.

Almost two hours of debate

The debate lasted almost two hours, and concluded with cordial exchanges between Emmanuel Macron and the farmers. The Head of State should now inaugurate the agricultural show.

12:30 p.m.

Emmanuel Macron concludes the debate

The Head of State concludes the debate by recalling some of the commitments promised during the discussion, in particular the launch of a cash emergency plan on Monday, and recalls the promise of a meeting in three weeks at the 'Elysium. Faced with protests from certain farmers, Emmanuel Macron denounces “the easy solutions of those who are not in power. We can close the borders, that will not solve the problem”, he says, attacking the National Rally without naming it. “I will not let you go,” promises the President. “As long as all this does not materialize in the farmyards, we will be on your back,” replies a farmer. “I know, we won’t let go. I’m counting on you to restore calm,” retorts Emmanuel Macron.

12:26 p.m.

Against Mercosur…

The tone is rising again on free trade agreements. While the Head of State defends Ceta, the agreement with Canada, “which is good for French agriculture”, a participant contests it. Emmanuel Macron defends himself, and assures that he will challenge Mercosur, the agreement with the countries of South America, “for which there is no mirror clause”.

12:20 p.m. .

“We cannot close the borders with Spain”

“On viticulture, I will be honest with you, we cannot close the borders with Spain,” replies Emmanuel Macron to the Gard winegrower, defending “the plan worked by Hérault resident Jérôme Despey.

12:14 p.m.

The Head of State presents his conclusions

“On the water, we know where we have stood regionally. But I am going to lay down a principle, we are going to prioritize agricultural use,” says Emmanuel Macron, who also promises a European simplification plan on certain points, notably fallows, and wants to defend the fact of returning to the degrowth plan. “We were wrong about that, we have to produce more,” he said.

12:06 p.m.

Emmanuel Macron defends himself

Emmanuel Macron still defends his decisions on phytosanitary products and on aid to Ukraine. “What I want us to achieve at European level is to put the same constraints on chicken and cereals.” On energy, we will continue to support.

12:00.

“Give us confidence in you”, intervenes a farmer

“Two days ago, I was with a farmer whose husband killed himself a few years ago. Give us confidence in you, I I no longer trust the political world, farmers are dying”, intervenes a farmer who joins the debate.

11h49.

“We are going to make the controls more readable”

“We are going to remove the strategic phytosanitary advice,” announces Emmanuel Macron, who admits that it is “a gas factory”. “Sector by sector, we will see how to set up a system to help you reduce the use of phytosanitary products.” Farmers still have doubts. “We are going to remove controls, we are going to simplify, give you clarity on the controls. The government is going to organize all that,” replies the head of state. “Mr. President, leave us alone and let us work,” says one participant. “But when there is public aid, it is normal for there to be controls,” he replies, adding that he wants to establish “a right to make mistakes”.

11h44.

An emergency cash flow plan from Monday, promises Emmanuel Macron

“We are going to launch an emergency cash flow plan”, promises Emmanuel Macron again, referring to other professions which will be affected. “We are going to bring together at the national level, MSA and banks, to imagine a system of guarantees. From Monday, we will launch a census in each region of farms in difficulty and put in place a system on a case-by-case basis. We have a rescue plan to launch. Concretely, we're going to put everyone around the table.” “We no longer have confidence,” says one participant. “Trust, we must rebuild it, it’s true,” replies Emmanuel Macron.

11h38.

“There will be a floor price “, promises the Head of State

Emmanuel Macron make a commitment. “In three weeks, there will be a floor price, below which the processor cannot buy it and the distributor cannot resell it. We will do it for all the sectors which agree to take on this work,” assures the head of state. Some farmers are skeptical about the proper application of the measure. “It’s the most engaging thing. Otherwise, I suggest that farmers become civil servants,” replies Emmanuel Macron. “On income and Egalim, it is the European system which poses a problem with the purchasing centers which circumvent the system. We will work on it”, he assures.

11:31am.

“I have three goals for the French farm”

“I get income right away,” continues Emmanuel Macron in the face of angry farmers. “I have three objectives for the French farm: to feed, therefore to assume responsibility for producing; to protect our soil, farmers and consumers, and that can be financed; to renew in the face of the shock of the demographic transition, we must install 200,000 farmers in the over the next few years. We will include in the agricultural orientation law that agriculture is a major national interest. The Head of State then discusses the Egalim law and the modifications to be made by sector, in particular that of cattle. “You are too technical, Mr. President,” retorts a participant.

11h27.

Emmanuel Macron begins a summary: “not to draw up a catastrophic portrait”

“We must not paint a catastrophic portrait of our agriculture. There are people in very serious difficulty, but the Firm France remains strong and produces for our needs and even exports, so we cannot cut ourselves off from the world and close the borders,” begins the Head of State. Protests from certain farmers: “You want to let us die”. “No, we will come back to it, but the reality is that French agriculture is holding up,” says Emmanuel Macron, defending the heterogeneity of the situation.

11h24.

“Review the balance of power with large groups”

Un milk producer testifies. “I am in conflict with my distributor, they won in court. We need to review the balance of power,” he says. Once again, Emmanuel Macron takes notes.

11h18.

“What we give to agriculture is more than ten billion each year”

The President of the Republic asks if any subjects have not been discussed, each participant wants to testify, he distributes the floor. “You give colossal sums to Ukraine, you give us crumbs,” the farmer who spoke a little earlier rages again. Emmanuel Macron justifies himself. “Ukraine is valued military aid. What we give to French agriculture each year is more than 10 billion, we increase our support when other countries decline.”

11h14.

“If we want to move towards ecology, we need money in front”

A farmer directs the debate on ecology. “Today everyone is trying to move towards environmental measures, but all that causes is a loss of yield, loss of competitiveness. 20% of the CAP budget comes from ecological measures, we do not “We have not been paid commensurate with our efforts on our environmental actions. The only impact I see is a loss of income, €4,500 on the CAP. We need a solutions contract between the farmer and the government “, he said. Adding: “If we want to move towards ecology, we need money in front.”

11h06.

A young farmer testifies to the difficulties of installation

A young farmer who says he retrained last year testifies to the entire administrative process which was imposed, while he took over his parents' installation. “I had to reproduce the same file eight times to different administrations,” he says. Here again, Emmanuel Macron listens, takes notes.

11h02.

“Sectors will disappear”

A farmer warns of sectors in very difficulty, “for example cherry”, putting on the table subjects such as income and lack of competitiveness. “We must set a new course and legal protection for farmers”, also calling for a strong acceleration of research to find solutions quickly, and to make agriculture an attractive profession again.

11h00.

The Head of State defends his action

A participant raises his voice. “When we see the colossal sums that you have sent to Ukraine…” Emmanuel Macron cuts him off, speaking to recall his actions. “We have already taken 62 measures. I made commitments this morning to go further. We cannot act as if we are starting from scratch each time. You do not have a government that has been deaf, this it is not true that nothing has been done”.

10:57.

“All sectors are in difficulty”

The tone goes up a notch. Emmanuel Macron agrees that certain sectors are in difficulty. “All the sectors are in difficulty,” grumble the participants. A Gard winegrower calls for blocking the important ones from Spain where the standards are not the same. “I can’t pay for my daughter’s canteen,” he said.

Agricultural Show: Emmanuel Macron inaugurates the show under the whistles... follow our live

Emmanuel Macron facing farmers. Screenshot France Info 10h51.

“Standards are good, but the administration must be more flexible”

A farmer testifies to having had to pay a fine of €28,000 for having crushed thistles outside the authorized dates. “There are too many standards, we have a problem of transposition. The administration must be more flexible”, he says, while another grumbles against the attitude of prefects “who apply regulations which do not exist “.

10h50.

“We need commitments, right now!”

A farmer calls out to Emmanuel Macron. “We need commitments, right now, at the end of the meeting.” “You are going to have some,” replied the Head of State.

10h46.

“A suicide every two days”

A poultry breeder in Dordogne recalls that a farmer commits suicide every two days. “We work 100 hours a week, I don't go out an income for three years,” he says, assuring that he almost took action last summer. “We are short of cash, we have to help us, we have to act very, very quickly,” he says. One of his colleagues speaks: “You have taken many measures, we must apply them, because today we need breath, oxygen. It's super easy to do, you did it for the Covid”. Emmanuel Macron listens, for the moment silent.

10h44.

The Young Farmers unfold their grievances

In a shirt, in the middle of around fifty people and surrounded by ministers of agriculture, Emmanuel Macron listens to the complaints of a representative of the Young Farmers. “We have been asking for a road map for months”, he states, ensuring that “nothing is happening at the European and international level”, he says, asking that products coming from abroad be taxed.

10:42 a.m.

“We're going around in circles”, says a farmer

“The meeting was supposed to be this morning, you had ten days to draw up your roadmap, we're going in circles”, says a participant. The exchanges are tense, with Emmanuel Macron trying to justify his action towards the agricultural world.

10h39.

“Free the farmers”

Before launching the debate, participants ask Emmanuel Macron to send a message to “liberate” the farmers arrested this morning during the clashes. The President of the Republic relaunches his call for calm “for the fair to run smoothly”.

10:34 a.m.

Start of a mini-debate

A mini-debate will begin between the President of the Republic and representatives of the agricultural world, exchanges in front of television cameras. Hall 1, where the animals are exhibited, is currently still closed due to the presence of demonstrators.

10:28 a.m.

Always no inauguration, the doors of the show open

The agricultural show has still not been inaugurated, but the doors of the agricultural show are starting to open 1h30 late. Currently, the Head of State is meeting again with representatives of the agricultural world. On BFM TV, a participant in the first meeting said she felt Emmanuel Macron “stressed”.

10h22.

The president's “anger” over the invitation to the Earth Uprisings

Another highlight of the President of the Republic's intervention was his “anger” expressed over the invitation launched to the “Earth Uprising” movement for a debate on agriculture. “It’s nonsense,” he gets carried away, recalling that he proposed its dissolution in the Council of Ministers. The controversy that followed led to the cancellation of the debate.

10:21 a.m.

A new meeting in three weeks at the Elysée

Other announcement: Emmanuel Macron will bring together agricultural unions and sector managers at the Elysée in three weeks to take a new look at the situation, but also build an agricultural plan for 2040, “which will be broken down by sector and by region”.

10h12.

What was said the President of the Republic

After his closed-door meeting with the unions, the President of the Republic took the floor to make announcements. “We will not respond to this agricultural crisis in a few hours. This show must take place peacefully,” he said first, before outlining the context. If he recognizes “an income crisis, a crisis of confidence” for farmers, also “difficulty sectors: livestock farming, arboriculture, vegetables..”, he believes that the French model is “solid. It produces and allows us to feed the French and exports two thirds of its production. Emmanuel Macron therefore says he wants to recognize agriculture and food as “a major general interest”, a mention which will, he says, be included in the law. The Head of State assures that the controls carried out in the Egalim law will be reinforced, adding that “the fines will be paid” to the agricultural world. An “emergency cash flow plan” must also bring together banks and the agricultural sector to help the farms most in difficulty. He promises a European Egalim in the face of distributors “who do not play the game” and “circumvent the law”. He also wants to set floor prices to ensure farmers' income.

10h06.

“Anger, we understand it”, the reaction of regional elected representative René Moreno in front of the show

Stuck with the public in front of the agricultural show, René Moreno hopes that the image of agriculture will not be tarnished.

10h02.

Emmanuel Macron calls for “calm down”

The Agricultural Show “must be held calmly”, called Emmanuel Macron, when he spoke after the clashes between demonstrators and the police. But the farmers are determined not to let him wander the aisles and ask for his departure.

09h57.

The opening of the show delayed

The organizers of the International Agricultural Show have just informed that, in the current context, “the conditions are not met for so that we can open the doors to visitors with peace of mind. The decision has been taken to delay the opening of the 60th edition of the International Agricultural Show. It will be reviewed regularly.”

09h46.

Will Emmanuel Macron's visit take place ?

< p class="live-post__abord">After a long intervention in front of the press to summarize the announcements made to the unions, the President of the Republic is still at the agricultural show, but we still do not know if he will be able to inaugurate the event and stroll through the aisles. The demonstrators are still as angry as ever and are putting pressure on the police.

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