"Mistakes" that "sacrifice the environment to demagoguery," a government that "is fighting the wrong battle to resolve the agricultural crisis," "serious setbacks" on the ecological transition: such are the unanimous findings of nature protection organizations. They say that in order to respond to the anger of farmers who have mobilized to demand decent incomes and working conditions, the government has undermined several measures and mechanisms aimed at protecting biodiversity, which is faced with an unprecedented crisis.

Thomas Uthayakumar, director of programs at the Fondation pour la Nature et l'Homme (Foundation for Nature and Humanity), said sadly "We're facing environmental setbacks at a time when there was an urgent need to get farmers on board for an agro-ecological transition, by giving them the means to do so and by supporting them. "Recognition of the key role played by agriculture in the fight against climate change and the collapse of biodiversity has unfortunately been swept aside by the desire to please the Fédération nationale des syndicats d'exploitants agricoles (FNSEA, National Federation of Agricultural Unions)," France Nature Environnement warned

Among the main setbacks the government announced on Thursday February 1 is the "halting" of the Ecophyto plan, aimed at reducing pesticide use by 50% by 2030. This decision comes as the state was sanctioned, in June 2023, for failing to meet its commitments to reduce the use of such plant-protecting (phytosanitary) products, and enjoined to repair the associated ecological damage before June 2024.

Among the FNSEA's other targets was the Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB, French Office for Biodiversity), which has been accused of being relentless against farmers. In his first announcements on January 26, Gabriel Attal decided to place the public institution under the supervision of the departmental prefects, and called for solutions to be found quickly to "ease the tension." In the wake of this declaration, incidents targeting the OFB have multiplied. Agents were targeted by name in a tag in Montbard (Côte-d'Or), tires and manure were dumped in front of the OFB premises in Dijon, a building was tarred in Le Pin-au-Haras (Orne), a fire was started in Lempdes (Puy-de-Dôme), and the list goes on.

"The situation was already complicated, and now it is taking on unimaginable proportions," said Véronique Caraco-Giordano, general secretary of the Syndicat National de l'Environnement (SNE-FSU, National Union for the Environment) on Wednesday. The Prime Minister has made the OFB the scapegoat for the crisis, and has given the agents the runaround, due to his total ignorance of what the institution does." On Wednesday evening, after several days of silence, the French Ecological Transition Minister, Christophe Béchu, said that he was "on the side" of the agents who had been "targeted, threatened and intimidated."

You have 65% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.