The National Assembly approved on Friday a provision proposed by the right, and voted with the support of the RN, which prohibits animal associations from benefiting from tax-exempt donations when they are convicted of actions against agricultural exploitations, a measure strongly denounced by Greenpeace and L214.
The measure, proposed by the elected representatives of LR and Horizons in the form of amendments to the draft state budget for 2025, was adopted by only two votes, despite the unfavorable opinion of the government. He received 97 votes, including 73 from the National Group and the rest from the ranks that supported the executive. The left opposed it.
It expands the list of crimes that can lead an association, if convicted of such acts, to lose a tax advantage granted to its donors. This will now be the case if she is found guilty of “obstructing economic activity” or “entering another person’s home,” in particular.
The proposal, which to come into force will still have to overcome the obstacle of parliamentary shuttles and a possible 49.3, does not specify what type of association it is aimed at. Its authors, however, clearly explained that they wanted to address the “resurgence of malicious acts against farmers” or “more generally, against meat professionals.”
“Not a single euro of public money” should go to “L214 or to associations that deliberately attack our farmers” and seek to “smear a profession,” said Corentin Le Fur (LR).
A “Pandora’s box”
For Pierrick Courbon (PS), the text “seriously undermines associative freedoms.”
In a press release, the environmental NGO Greenpeace states that it fears an incitement to “multiply ‘silence procedures'” aimed “at muzzling or discouraging critical expressions.”
An association could be “deprived of a large part of its financial resources after a conviction for acts that have so far only resulted in a fine of a few hundred euros,” commented Jérôme Frignet, co-director of Greenpeace France programs.
The animal rights association L214 also expressed its “outrage” at a “disgusting” “attempt to intimidate.” The authors of this provision aim to “silence whistleblowers and protect a meat industry” that “fears transparency,” said its co-founder Brigitte Gothière.
Source: BFM TV
