Duplomb Law: "Farmers are not asking for this law," says the Peasant Confederation in Brignoles

As the Duplomb bill was being examined by the joint committee in Paris on Monday, farmers from the Confédération paysanne, a union firmly opposed to the bill, made their voices heard in Paris and in many other regions.

Thus, around fifteen farmers were keen to meet in Brignoles, in front of the sub-prefecture, for a symbolic "farmers' banquet", and above all to make their arguments heard.

"We must first dispel the idea spread by the FNSEA ( National Federation of Agricultural Trade Unions, a rival union, Editor's note) that this law is being demanded by farmers. This is false, farmers are not asking for this law," says one of its representatives, Vincent Arcusa... "The three pillars of this project are the simplification of laws on water retention, simplification for industrial livestock farming procedures and finally, the main stumbling block, the reintroduction of a dangerous product, neonicotinoids, for the benefit of beet or hazelnut producers, for example... However, no farmer in the Var needs these changes. The only impact this law will have in the Var will be to further harm beekeepers, because neonicotinoids are toxic to bees..."

"A law for the agro-industry"

According to Vincent Arcusa, "on a national scale, this law will benefit 4 or 5% of farmers at most, and above all, the agro-industry. If farmers, of all persuasions, expressed their unhappiness and anger a few months ago, it was above all for questions of income, to be able to live decently from their work. And this law does not respond at all to this problem, it is only a forceful move, based on an argument from the FNSEA."

Avoiding a race to the bottom

Among the main arguments of the defenders of the Duplomb law is the need to be able to use the same products as those of competing countries.

"But we are not obliged to fall into line, to say 'the other is doing less well, allow me to do less well!' On the contrary, French agriculture has produced quality work in its fields for several years, the challenge is to make this known, and to protect it if necessary at our borders," continues the elected representative of the "Conf'" at the Var Chamber of Agriculture. "If we only fall into line with what is done less well elsewhere, what will be the next step, attacking the labor code?"

Samuel Bettex, a beekeeper in Barjols, sees this bill as "a huge step backwards in terms of environmental protection. If these products are banned, it's because they are dangerous. We've lost 70% of our insect population in 30 years, and it's accelerating... Furthermore, France is still the second country in Europe where the most plant protection products are authorized: it's therefore not a problem of products, but a problem of support for farmers when we ban a product that is too dangerous..."

The beekeeper from Barjols has already noted "the major impacts of climate change on our activities. There is an urgent need to change our software... For example, for honey, we are in the middle of the lavender season. And with the high temperatures, it seems that the honey flow has already stopped... If this were confirmed, it would be a catastrophic year for lavender honey, the worst in 10 or 20 years..."

The Peasant Confederation was received by the sub-prefect of Brignoles, Anne-Cécile Vialle.