The concern in France about the possible generalization of the rural mobilizations that they are already felt in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, etc.

The fact that in Germany both the agricultural sector and the transport sector are mobilizing almost together is reminiscent in France of the demonstrations and riots with the “yellow vests” where these two professional categories were the protagonists.

At the moment in France the farmers’ mobilizations (with basic demands to reduce the cost of energy, tax exemptions and reduce bureaucratic procedures), have led to the blockade of only one motorway, the A64. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal today received representatives of farmers’ unions in Paris, at the same time postponing debates in the National Assembly on a bill concerning the French agricultural sector.

As more or less in the rest of Europe, in France the target of the mobilizations is Brussels and the “Green Deal” to combat global warming, but also the national governments “that do not take measures” to reduce the cost of agriculture production, which partly results from the war in Ukraine.

French newspaper Les Echos points out that high food inflation in Europe, which even reached 20% in the European Union in March 2023, may have benefited some farmers but this is not the case for all. It is noted that agricultural production fell by 0.8% in France last year, while Eurostat reports that the prices of agricultural products are falling sharply, with the third quarter showing a decrease of 9% in the EU.

Finally, the newspaper Figaro notes that “from Berlin to Paris and from Warsaw to Amsterdam, the elements of the conditions differ but the structure of the crisis is the same. It is the consequence of a disturbing logic, of a European agricultural dedevelopment that does not speak its name”.