French farmers protest in Paris for law loosening environmental regulations
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
French farmers protest in Paris for law loosening environmental regulations
Farmers demonstrate against changes to legislation that would ease restrictions on pesticide and water use in farming. More than 150 farmers from the Ile-de-France, Grand Est and Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur regions gathered peacefully in front of the National Assembly, drinking coffee and eating croissants. Protests are also expected in Brussels next week, targeting the EU’s environmental regulations and green policies. The legislation, tabled by far-right MP Laurent Duplomb, proposes simplifying approvals for breeding facilities, loosening restrictions around water use to promote irrigation reservoirs and reauthorising a banned neonicotinoid pesticide used in sugar beet cultivation. The proposed law is part of a wider trend in numerous European Union states to unwind environmental legislation.
French farmers have disrupted highway traffic around Paris and rallied in front of parliament to protest against amendments filed by opposition lawmakers to a bill that would loosen environmental regulations on farming.
Members of France’s leading farming union, the FNSEA, parked about 10 tractors outside the National Assembly on Monday to put pressure on MPs, who began debating the legislation in the afternoon.
The legislation, tabled by far-right MP Laurent Duplomb, proposes simplifying approvals for breeding facilities, loosening restrictions around water use to promote irrigation reservoirs and reauthorising a banned neonicotinoid pesticide used in sugar beet cultivation that environmentalists say is harmful to bees.
The proposed law is part of a wider trend in numerous European Union states to unwind environmental legislation as farmers grapple with rising costs and households struggle with the cost-of-living crisis.
More than 150 farmers from the Ile-de-France, Grand Est and Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur regions gathered peacefully in front of the National Assembly, drinking coffee and eating croissants, after blocking the main roads around the capital.
Advertisement
“This bill to lift the constraints on the farming profession is very important to us,” FNSEA Secretary-General Herve Lapie told the AFP news agency.
“What we are asking for is simply to be able to work in a European environment: a single market, a single set of rules. We’ve been fighting for this for 20 years. For once, there’s a bill along these lines. … We don’t have the patience to wait any longer.”
The FNSEA and its allies say the neonicotinoid pesticide acetamiprid, which has been prohibited in France since 2018 due to environmental and health concerns, should be authorised in France like it is across the EU because it is less toxic to wildlife than other neonicotinoids and stops crops from being ravaged by pests.
Environmental campaigners and some unions representing small-scale and organic farmers say the bill benefits the large-scale agriculture industry at the expense of independent operators.
President Emmanuel Macron’s opponents on the political left have proposed multiple amendments that the protesting farmers said threatened the bill.
“We’re asking the lawmakers, our lawmakers, to be serious and vote for it as it stands,” Julien Thierry, a grain farmer from the Yvelines department outside Paris, told The Associated Press news agency, criticising politicians from the Greens and left-wing France Unbowed (LFI).
Ecologists party MP Delphine Batho said the text of the bill is “Trump-inspired” while LFI MP Aurelie Trouve wrote in an article for the French daily Le Monde that it signified “a political capitulation, one that marks an ecological junction”.
Advertisement
FNSEA chief Arnaud Rousseau said protests would continue until Wednesday with farmers from the Centre-Val de Loire and Hauts-de-France regions expected to join their colleagues.
Protests are also expected in Brussels next week, targeting the EU’s environmental regulations and green policies.
Farmers across France and Europe won concessions last year after railing against cheap foreign competition and what they say are unnecessary regulations.
EU may increase subsidies and cut regulations for farmers following protests
The European Commission proposed a plan to ease environmental regulations linked to the European Union’s major farming subsidy program. The move comes after farmers across Europe staged large-scale protests using large farm equipment to block roads in France, the Czech Republic, Brussels, Germany and other EU nations. The EU argues that policies reducing paperwork and increasing subsidies are necessary for agricultural businesses to compete with Beijing and Washington. European lobby group Copa-Cogeca and other organizations have planned demonstrations in Brussels on May 20, according to Bloomberg. The proposed changes must now be negotiated and approved by EU nations and the Parliament and need to be signed off on by EU member states and Parliament. The proposal would implement several measures to help farmers, including increasing lump sum payments to more than $2,800 for independent farmers who agree to implement environmentally friendly agricultural practices. The commission also said it is looking to streamline administrative rules that will save farmers roughly $1.8 billion a year.
The move comes after farmers across Europe staged large-scale protests using large farm equipment to block roads in France, the Czech Republic, Brussels, Germany and other EU nations.
How blockades became a symbol of revolt
Protesting with blockades, particularly in France, has a history that dates back decades. In the 1950s, for example, French farmers struggling to keep up with industrialization costs staged mass protests, establishing the farm equipment blockade “as a form of revolt,” according to Time magazine.
In January, farmers demanding lower fuel prices, higher wages and fewer regulations brought large farm vehicles to block the streets of Paris as protesters said new government requirements threatened their livelihoods. European leaders argued that the policies were necessary to fight climate change.
One of the main sticking points for farmers was reportedly a requirement under the EU’s Nature Restoration Law for 4% of farmland to remain vacant to preserve and restore natural habitats harmed by agriculture. Farmers contended the rule hurt their production ability, thus cutting into their already diminishing income.
What changes are officials considering?
The European Commission’s proposal would implement several measures to help farmers, including increasing lump sum payments to more than $2,800 for independent farmers who agree to implement environmentally friendly agricultural practices. The payments would be double what farmers are currently receiving. The commission also said it is looking to streamline administrative rules that will save farmers roughly $1.8 billion a year, according to Bloomberg.
EU Agricultural Commissioner Christophe Hansen said he is considering rule changes that could take effect as soon as 2026 and need to be signed off on by EU member states and Parliament.
“The commission is on farmers’ side, and we are doing our best to cut the bureaucracy so they can focus on what they do best; producing food for all of us while protecting our natural resources,” Hansen said.
What else could change?
Other proposed changes include allowing farmers to remove 10% instead of the current allowance of 5% of permanent grasslands, which the bloc has urged farmers to preserve to keep carbon dioxide in the ground as part of an effort to combat climate change. Farmers would also be eligible for additional subsidies to meet current requirements aimed at maintaining wetlands and their ecosystems.
Critics of removing more permanent grasslands argue that the rule change would put farms at greater risk of flooding because wetlands often help prevent flooding and protect against droughts.
“Instead of helping farmers protect these vital ecosystems, the Commission is handing out a blank cheque to destroy them,” Matilda Dhaskali, a policy officer for the group Birdlife, told Reuters.
The commission’s plan would also allow member nations to distribute more money quickly to respond to natural disasters as climate change worsens. The EU argues that policies reducing paperwork and increasing subsidies are necessary for agricultural businesses to compete with Beijing and Washington.
What is CAP and how much money is in its budget?
The EU’s spending on its Common Agricultural Policy makes up a large portion of the bloc’s budget. Reuters reports that the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP, which allocates farming subsidies, is worth roughly $430 billion, or about a third of the EU’s total 2021-2027 budget.
The EU has yet to finalize its next seven-year budget cycle, and the long-term investment and funding details for its agricultural plan, announced in February, remain undisclosed.
How are farming groups responding?
Agricultural advocacy groups are concerned about the potential changes. European lobby group Copa-Cogeca and other organizations have planned demonstrations in Brussels on May 20, according to Bloomberg. They are particularly concerned that a “single fund” for the Common Agricultural Policy threatens to create a law with “less focus, fewer guarantees, and no shared vision.”
The proposed changes by the commission must now be negotiated and approved by EU nations and the Parliament.
French farmers bring tractors to Paris to press for looser rules
French farmers protest against amendments to bill easing environmental rules. Bill would loosen restrictions on pesticide and water use in farming. Bill re-authorises banned pesticide used on sugar beet cultivation. Critics say bill favours large-scale agro industry at the expense of independent operators.”We’re asking the lawmakers, our lawmakers, to be serious and vote for it as it stands,” said Julien Thierry, a grain farmer from the Yvelines department outside Paris, criticising lawmakers from the Greens and left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) The bill is part of a trend in numerous European Union states to unwind environmental legislation.
Item 1 of 4 Tractors are parked in front of the French parliament, the Assemblee Nationale, as French farmers gather for a protest to call on lawmakers to adopt a bill that would loosen restrictions on pesticide and water use in farming, in Paris, France May 26, 2025. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor
Summary Farmers oppose amendments to bill easing environmental rules
Bill re-authorises banned pesticide used on sugar beet
Protests disrupt highways into Paris, around parliament
Critics say bill favours large-scale agro industry
PARIS, May 26 (Reuters) – French farmers disrupted highway traffic around Paris and rallied in front of parliament with their tractors on Monday, protesting against amendments filed by opposition lawmakers to a bill that would loosen environmental regulations on farming.
The draft legislation proposes simplifying approvals for breeding facilities and irrigation reservoirs and re-authorising a banned neonicotinoid pesticide used in sugar beet cultivation that environmentalists say is harmful to bees.
Sign up here.
It is part of a trend in numerous European Union states to unwind environmental legislation as farmers grapple with rising input costs and households struggle with the cost of living.
Environmental campaigners and some unions representing small-scale and organic farmers say the bill benefits the large-scale agro industry at the expense of independent operators.
President Emmanuel Macron’s opponents on the political left have tabled multiple amendments that the protesting farmers said threatened the bill.
“We’re asking the lawmakers, our lawmakers, to be serious and vote for it as it stands,” said Julien Thierry, a grain farmer from the Yvelines department outside Paris, criticising lawmakers from the Greens and left-wing France Unbowed (LFI).
Farmers across France and Europe won concessions last year after railing against cheap foreign competition and what they say are unnecessary regulations.
On Monday, farmers drove their tractors along at least half a dozen highways leading into Paris, slowing the morning rush-hour traffic. Dozens gathered in front of the National Assembly on the banks of the river Seine as lawmakers debated the bill.
The FNSEA farmers union said regulations needed to be simplified for French farming to be more competitive.
The union and its allies also say the neonicotinoid pesticide acetamiprid is authorised in the rest of the EU and should be in France, as it is less toxic to wildlife than other neonicotinoids and stops crops being ravaged by pests.
Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide, Gus Trompiz and Lauren Bacquie; editing by Richard Lough and Philippa Fletcher
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab
EU states approve farming policy review amid Brussels farmers’ protests
EU member states agreed to unpick the more environmentally friendly requirements of the bloc’s common agricultural policy (CAP) Farmers have been mounting rolling protests in countries across the EU, from Belgium to France, Spain, Italy and Poland, over a long list of burdens they say are depressing revenue. Police said they used tear gas and water cannons against farmers who targeted them with eggs and Molotov cocktails, with two officers injured in the standoff and one arrest. The review was approved with backing from a qualified majority of EU states – overriding opposition from Germany in particular. “We won’t obtain better results by using old recipes,” said Germany’s Agriculture Minister Cem Ozemir. “This is a policy that made the big guys bigger guys,” he said. The proposal now goes before EU lawmakers for approval. The latest move in a string of concessions on agriculture comes less than three months before bloc-wide elections for the European Parliament.
EU member states on Tuesday, March 26, agreed to unpick the more environmentally friendly requirements of the bloc’s common agricultural policy (CAP) in a new bid to pacify months-long protests by farmers – who faced off with riot police in Brussels for the third time in two months.
Police said they used tear gas and water cannons against farmers who targeted them with eggs and Molotov cocktails, with two officers injured in the standoff and one arrest. Farmers have been mounting rolling protests in countries across the EU, from Belgium to France, Spain, Italy and Poland, over a long list of burdens they say are depressing revenue.
Read more Subscribers only Farmers’ anger is mounting across Europe
The CAP review was approved by a special committee, as agriculture ministers met under tight security in the city’s European district; which farmers thronged with 250 tractors, setting fire to tyres and bales of hay. “We have listened to our farmers and we have taken swift action to address their concerns at a time when they are confronted with numerous challenges,” said David Clarinval, deputy prime minister of Belgium, which holds the rotating EU presidency.
He said the revision sought to slash red tape and give farmers more flexibility in complying with green regulations while “maintaining a high level of environmental ambition” – a claim that has been rejected by environmental groups who see it as a big step backwards.
Protestors light fires next to their tractors during a demonstration of farmers near the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. GEERT VANDEN WIJNGAERT / AP
This latest move in a string of concessions on agriculture comes less than three months before bloc-wide elections for the European Parliament. Surveys have predicted that the vote will result in a surge of support for far-right parties that are using farmers’ discontent as part of their campaigning. The proposal now goes before EU lawmakers for approval.
‘We won’t obtain better results by using old recipes’
The CAP review, first proposed by the European Commission in mid-March, changes a set of environmental and climate standards that determine whether farmers can receive subsidies under the policy. A key change involves granting leeway to farmers who fail to meet CAP requirements because of extreme weather.
Read more Subscribers only European Commission rolls back CAP’s green measures
The revision also does away entirely with the obligation to leave a share of arable land fallow – a measure aimed at protecting soils and promoting biodiversity but a major gripe for farmers. Yet they would still be incentivised to do so. Member states would have more flexibility to decide which soils to protect and in which season, and would be allowed to diversify crops as well as to rotate them. Additionally, the revision exempts small farms under 10 hectares (25 acres) from inspections and penalties related to CAP compliance.
A farmer walks next to a figure made of hay bales, on the day of an EU agriculture ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Belgium, March 26, 2024. The placard reads “EU kills agriculture.” YVES HERMAN / REUTERS
France’s Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau welcomed it as a step “in the right direction.”
The powerful European farmers association Copa-Cogeca said its adoption by member states sent a “positive signal,” and called on EU lawmakers to follow suit.
Yet a coalition of 16 environmental groups including WWF and Greenpeace declared themselves to be “extremely concerned,” saying the proposal was made without proper impact assessment and urging the Commission to reverse course.
Read more Subscribers only ‘In Europe, the environmental transition is hanging in the balance’
The review was approved with backing from a qualified majority of EU states – overriding opposition from Germany in particular. Though a frequent critic of red tape under existing CAP rules, Germany’s Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir said the changes signalled a step backwards – to the time before the EU made defending the environment a priority. “We won’t obtain better results by using old recipes,” Ozdemir warned. “This was a policy that considerably harmed the little guys, and that just made the big guys bigger.”