Farmers are called to parade in tractors on Wednesday morning in Paris, to denounce the “disappearance” of French agricultural production due to the reduction in the number of pesticides available to them. The first call to demonstrate was issued a few days ago by the Parisian Greater Basin section of the FNSEA, which covers 12 cereal departments in northern France, and by the specialized branch of the Federation for sugar beet production (CGB).
On Friday evening, the National Federation broadcasts and amplifies the movement, calling on “its entire network and all its sectors to mobilize from February 8 in Paris and until February 20 throughout France”. The farmers plan to converge on tractors and coaches from Porte de Versailles, in the south of Paris, to the Esplanade des Invalides, near the National Assembly and the Ministry of Agriculture.
“It was practical for storing tractors but above all it is a symbol because Napoleon (buried in Les Invalides) had imported beets from Poland to make France independent of sugar and must be turning in his grave today,” said Damien Greffin, president of the FNSEA. Parisian Grand Bassin and farmer in Essonne. According to him, about 900 tractors have already announced their participation in the movement.
Neonicotinoids, “tip of the iceberg”
The government decided on January 23 to abandon the authorization of neonicotinoid insecticides for sugar beet cultivation, following a decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union declaring any derogation illegal. These substances, toxic to bees and banned since 2018, benefited from an exception in France for two years, which allowed them to be applied preventively to sugar beet seeds, to protect them from jaundice, a viral disease that threatens bees. yields.
The issue of neonicotinoids is “the tip of the iceberg”, says Damien Greffin, who cites the prohibition of the insecticide phosmet, which “compromises” the cultivation of cherries, or that of an herbicide for endive. According to him, we are witnessing a “catastrophe of the agricultural sectors one after the other (…) at this rate, French agriculture will disappear”.
Although he affirms that “it is not about defending phytosanitary products”, he is in favor of reintroducing neonicotinoids “as long as we have no other solution”. For the FNSEA, what is at stake is “food sovereignty”, “shown as a government priority”, and the union calls on the executive to “move from speech to action”.
Source: BFM TV
