France’s emergency agricultural bill has returned to the National Assembly, setting the stage for what are expected to be lengthy and highly charged debates over water storage, pesticides and the future of livestock farming.
Presented by the government on Tuesday in response to the anger that swept through the farming sector during last winter’s protests, the legislation is intended to offer what ministers describe as practical support for an industry under mounting economic and environmental pressure.
The discussions come as several decrees linked to the Agricultural Policy Act and the controversial Duplomb Act – a separate piece of legislation championed by conservative Senator Laurent Duplomb aimed at easing environmental and administrative constraints on farmers, particularly regarding pesticides, water storage and livestock farming – are yet to be published.
This means MPs are once again being asked to weigh measures aimed at supporting French agriculture – possibly for the final time before the 2027 presidential election campaign begins in earnest.
The bill spans a wide range of issues, from food sovereignty and protection against wolf attacks, to farming incomes and criminal penalties for thefts from agricultural holdings. The government says the package is designed to provide “concrete solutions” to the sector’s difficulties.
Writing in Le Figaro, Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard described the legislation as “a law of reconciliation” between “ecological urgency” and “the urgency to produce”.
She also urged MPs not to obstruct parliamentary debate, warning that any attempt to derail the bill would be viewed “as an insult by farmers”.
Around 2,200 amendments have already been tabled, although some are expected to be ruled inadmissible. Additional debating time has been scheduled, yet the parliamentary calendar means discussions will still be interrupted several times by other legislation before a final vote, currently planned for 2 June.
Government allies acknowledge privately that securing the bill’s passage will not be easy. Left-wing parties have criticised several provisions as threats to environmental protections, while the far-right National Rally (RN) argues the measures do not go far enough to defend French farmers.
“The RN and the far left will use this bill as a platform,” predicted one right-wing MP.
Pesticides ignite divisions
The most explosive issue is likely to be pesticides, a topic that has repeatedly triggered bitter disputes in the Assembly.
Opposition MPs are already highlighting what they see as a major omission from the text: the absence of acetamiprid, an insecticide banned in France whose possible reintroduction was blocked by the Constitutional Council last summer.
The powerful FNSEA farming union is pressing for the issue to be revisited immediately rather than postponed.
Speaking on the TF1 TV channel, Genevard stressed that the current bill does not deal with “the reintroduction of plant protection products”. She said a separate parliamentary initiative was moving forward in parallel and would follow its own legislative route.
However, the issue could still resurface during the Senate hearings. Senator Duplomb has already indicated that he intends to push for acetamiprid to be added back into the wider agricultural reform process.
For now, the bill instead focuses on tackling what ministers call unfair competition by allowing the government to block imports of food products containing pesticide residues banned within the European Union.
Water management is emerging as another major battleground. The legislation would remove the obligation to hold a public meeting before granting environmental authorisation for water storage projects, a move supporters say would speed up stalled developments.
Both the FNSEA and Coordination Rurale, France’s second-largest farming union, argue that too many projects remain trapped in administrative limbo.
Critics, however, accuse the government of encouraging environmentally damaging “mega-reservoirs” and industrial-scale farming.
Focus on farming incomes
The Assembly committee also removed two controversial provisions from the draft law, although both could return during debates in the chamber itself.
One proposed reducing compensation requirements for development projects on wetlands that had already been altered, while another related to the protection of drinking water catchment areas.
Alongside the environmental disputes, the government is also attempting to address the increasingly fragile incomes of French farmers.
One part of the bill seeks to strengthen the bargaining power of producer organisations in negotiations with major industrial and retail groups. This section has won cautious support from the left-leaning Confédération Paysanne union, which has otherwise been critical of the wider package.
Committee amendments have already increased sanctions and obligations for large retailers accused of cutting orders in order to pressure suppliers during commercial negotiations.
Retail groups, however, have written to MPs expressing frustration with the legislation, arguing that it would make the system “more rigid” for the benefit of “a few multinationals”.
The bill also contains a criminal justice component, introducing tougher penalties for thefts from farms, including fuel and agricultural machinery.
(with newswires)
