French farmers’ union backs country-wide protests in Germany

The director of French farming union FNSEA backed the ongoing farmer protests across the border in Germany, adding that while the root causes of the protests are the same, the particulars of the disputes differ across the countries’ borders.

Read the original French story here.

The large-scale protests by German farmers, which have been raging across the country since Monday (8 January) and have caused serious traffic disruption, are an echo of a movement that took place in France in November, FNSEA director Arnaud Rousseau said on Wednesday.

“These movements all have the same root cause: the growing gap between the reality of farmers’ practices on the ground and the administrative decisions centralised in Brussels, which are creating a revolt,” said Rousseau.

In the “On marche sur la tête” (“We are walking on our heads”) movement that took place in November, around 10,000 signs were turned around so that cars entering towns and cities would see the signs facing down.

Though Berlin cutting the tax exemption on diesel fuel for non-road use appears to have been the final straw for German farmers to agitate, they are also increasingly wary of EU regulations, such as increasing environmental standards, more bureaucracy and EU free trade agreements, which threaten to undermine farmers’ competitiveness.

“What brings us closer together is the questioning of this European vision, not the Green Deal, which raises questions about the necessary transition, but the ‘degrowth’ part of the vision of production,” stressed Rousseau, who says he is in regular contact with his German counterparts from the main German farmers’ union and organiser of the protests, the DBV.

Rousseau also believes these events have a European dimension.

In the Netherlands, for instance, they started against the backdrop of the nitrogen crisis, while in Poland and Romania, protests erupted because of the influx of cheaper Ukrainian products onto national markets – issues that are also common to France, as Rousseau notes: “55% of the chicken consumed in France is now imported [partly from Ukraine], so we are worried about French poultry production.”

Farmers back on political scene, putting pressure on governments

From France to Poland and Germany, tractors are taking to the streets, raising fears among national governments that farmers, usually seen as a more conservative part of the electorate, may become a potential voting pool for the far right.

Franco-German differences

However, Rousseau was keen to point out that the situation, particularly concerning non-road diesel, is not comparable to that of France, saying he was pleased to have avoided the German “pitfall” that had sparked the uproar.

In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government announced that it would abolish the tax break for agricultural diesel in 2024 to help plug the budget deficit, although farmers’ anger forced him to concede a more gradual deadline of 2026, which was not enough to end the protests.

While France launched the same measure to decarbonise the economy, the French Finance Ministry granted a six-year delay – instead of three in Germany – following negotiations with stakeholders (including the FNSEA).

French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also announced in September that taxes on diesel would remain limited, and that tax compensation measures would be implemented.

“Our compensation measures are quite good for our farmers […] We will lose 35% of our tax benefits in 2030, while the Germans will lose 100% in 2026! Germany’s ‘green’ agriculture minister has led our colleagues towards blocking systems,” added FNSEA General Secretary Hervé Lapie on the sidelines of the conference.

While some departmental sections of the FNSEA took part in the German protests on Monday (8 January), as France 3 Grand Est reported, with around 20 tractors, the FNSEA has no plans to join the movement, Lapie confirmed.

The German farmers and other professional groups, such as rail workers, will demonstrate throughout the weekend before the mass rally on 15 January.

“We’re in full support,” Rosseau said.

German transport to be hit by mass strikes as train drivers to protest too

Germany’s train drivers’ union announced the start of nationwide strikes on Wednesday, adding to the traffic chaos as the showdown between farmers and the government over farm subsidies continues.

[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]

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