New Delhi: French President Emmanuel Macron’s two-day state visit to India comes as he faces a wave of farmers’ protests back home, which witnessed two tragic deaths Tuesday, including that of a 12-year old.
The convoy protests highlight the troubles that ail the French President and his new government — following the cabinet shuffle earlier this month after the resignation of prime minister Élisabeth Borne over divisive reforms to immigration and pensions and a cost-of-living crisis.
The latest issue facing Macron’s presidency is the growing farmers’ protests around France — with the A64 highway in Southwestern France blocked by hordes of tractors. Last week, a convoy of at least 400 tractors blocked the city centre of Toulouse, the capital of the Occitanie region in Southern France, protesting against environmental regulations and rising energy costs, BBC News reported.
On Monday, Arnaud Rousseau, the president of France’s largest farmers’ union, the National Federation of Agricultural Operators’ Union (FNSEA), warned on French radio that “certain number of actions will be carried out” for as long as necessary, as protests expanded across the country.
The new prime minister of France, Gabriel Attal met with union representatives Monday to discuss their grievances, which include low food prices, rising charges for farmers, higher fuel prices and environmental protection rules, which farmers find unacceptable, French newspaper Le Monde reported Tuesday.
However, tragedy struck the protests early Tuesday, when a car crashed into a large tent set up next to straw bales blocking the road, leading to the death of a protester and her daughter, according to Le Monde.
Alexendra Sonac (35) died instantly. Her 40-year-old husband Jean-Michael was seriously injured, and her 12-year-old daughter succumbed to her injuries later, as reported by Le Monde.
A man and two women of Armenian descent were arrested as a part of an investigation into aggravated manslaughter, and aggravated injuries according to Le Monde, leaving a protest that started off with festive spirit shattered.
Sonac, the day before the accident, had told a local radio station, “I have two dependent children and we live for them. We don’t go on vacation, we don’t have a day off, we don’t have any fun with our children,” reported Le Monde.
Macron said he was upset by the tragedy and informed the protesters through posts on X that the government has been “mobilised” to provide “concrete solutions”.
À nos agriculteurs : j’ai demandé au gouvernement d’être pleinement mobilisé pour apporter des solutions concrètes aux difficultés que vous rencontrez.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 23, 2024
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Rural discontent, new government and a right-ward tilt
The latest protests by farmers in France are a part of larger rural discontent being witnessed across Europe. All across the continent, from France to Romania, farmers’ have started to protest against the European Union’s green deal, while facing rising energy prices, cuts in fuel subsidies and low food prices as a result of imports from Ukraine.
Germany witnessed large farmer protests on 15 January at the iconic Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin, over cuts in diesel subsidies for the agriculture sector as the government attempted to balance its budget.
Similarly protests across the rural communities have enveloped the continent, coinciding with the rise of far-right parties, including the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which has reported extremely positive polling numbers in recent months as reported by the New York Times.
It is in the centre of these crises that Macron finds himself, as his own government has been enveloped in various issues in the last few months. Last month, the then government led by prime minister Élisabeth Borne passed an immigration law that split Macron’s party, with the support of the far-right party led by Marine Le Pen.
The then health minister Aurélien Rousseau resigned in protest against the law as it was amended to have tougher protections against allowing immigrants to bring their family members to France and delays welfare benefits, BBC News reported.
Le Pen at the time called the bill an “ideological victory” for her party. To combat the growth of the far-right, Macron replaced his cabinet and in a rare press conference earlier this month, tilted to the right, as reported by Le Monde.
During the press conference, Macron unleashed a broadside against Le Pen and her party the Rassemblement National (RN), calling it the “party of lies”. The RN has been polling well ahead of Macron’s own party in the run-up to elections to the European Parliament in June 2024, according to Le Monde.
To offer competition to Le Pen and the RN from the right, Macron announced the potential introduction of uniforms for middle school students in France in 2026 and also focussing on moral and civic education in schools. Macron also pushed for a demographic rearmament, given France’s declining birth rates, highlighting his push to stop the bleeding of support and regaining the political momentum from Le Pen, as reported by Le Monde.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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