Breeders: Holland puts pressure on supermarkets – Le Point

Francois Hollande has put pressure on Thursday in Dijon on distribution, slaughterers and processors to achieve price increases and try to stop a movement of farmers still active, with the persistent roadblocks. The President met with representatives of agricultural organizations Thursday in Côte-d’Or, in the context of a movement originally devoted to viticulture.

Faced since this weekend to protest growing, the government announced Wednesday an emergency plan with more than 600 million euros in favor of farmers in difficulty. The goal: raise prices paid to farmers, as for pork for beef, and loosen the grip of their debt. The state will thus engage with banks to restructure all medium and long term debt. On prices, “decisions have been taken and now will result because we want there to be not only the distribution that makes the necessary effort to compensate producers but also slaughterers and processors who are answerable Accounts “said Mr. Holland, citing” all productions, “including milk and meat.

Valls and its” call for “accountability”

Previously, RTL, Manuel Valls has launched an “appeal” to the “responsibility” of the “slaughterers” and “industrial”. “It is essential that prices rise in the sectors of beef,” he repeated, in line with the conclusions of the report of the mediator agricultural social relations presented Wednesday to the Minister of Agriculture, Stéphane Le Foll . The Prime Minister also announced that the “generalization” of “local supply” meat in collective state restorations continue to work conviction Thursday while traveling in Gironde. This generalization will be of “immediate actions” including through “clauses revisions,” said Mr. Holland, who also referred to the “contractualization” of negotiations and promised to redouble efforts to promote the merits of French agriculture internationally.

Meanwhile, the government plan has received very mixed reactions. The president of the FNSEA, Xavier Beulin announced that farmers were preparing “new movements within two or three days ahead.” Anger must “be able to speak,” he has said, while calling for “weighting on the ground”. Since Dijon, after meeting with Hollande, the president of the National Federation of Cattle Breeders (FNB), Jean-Pierre Fleury, considered that “the conditions (were) not met to lift the blockades.” At midday, the FNSEA, however, promised to lift the roadblocks around Lyon and 16 hours before the arrival of his boss, waited there in late afternoon.

Those who paralyzed the access to Caen had already been lifted on Wednesday, but elsewhere, particularly in the east, farmers continue to block some main roads and check the contents of refrigerated trucks. Thus, in Franche-Comté, they intercepted “without violence” a truck carrying about forty German beef carcasses intended for a number of meat in France, the Bigard Group. The truck was then escorted to the sub-prefecture of Montbéliard where his keys were to be handed over to the authorities.

Le Foll calls for Europe

The FNSEA and Young Farmers (JA), however, ensure that blockages should not continue, so as not to disturb the large crossover of holidaymakers this weekend. This is also what mobilizes full executive who wishes to avoid this crisis drags in the heart of summer, a few months regional elections and an opposition on the lookout.

President Republican, Nicolas Sarkozy, is thus broke his silence Wednesday to find that the government’s plan was “not up to the crisis of French agriculture.” Right “asleep while taking the first steps,” said Libération Mr Foll, also involving the 2009 plan Fillon government face the harsh criticism of the opposition.

M. Le Foll will now take care of the dairy sector. The president of the Federation of Milk Producers (FNPL) Thierry Roquefeuil asked him to convene a round table of all operators – producers, processors, distributors – Friday morning at the Ministry to define a revaluation of milk prices. “The distribution was committed in February to 340 euros per tonne, it is far,” says Roquefeuil, which will see the minister on Thursday 18 hours. “It takes a collective effort to cope up,” he says, while prices plunge, less than four months after the release of the system of European quotas. Simultaneously, the minister turns to Europe and makes contact on Thursday with German and Belgian counterparts notably to envisage solutions at Community level.