Behind the smiles, the farmers' mood, however, remains grim. In the past couple of years, many have demonstrated against falling wages, rising production costs, and what they deem to be regulatory overreach.
Mercosur: Another Franco-German Rivalry
The prospect of the implementation of the Mercosur free-trade deal with Latin America raises much apprehension among French grain and meat farmers especially.
The deal, signed by the European Commission in December 2024, would allow the four member countries of Mercosur—Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay—to import 180,000 tonnes of chicken and 159,000 tonnes of beef, all tariff-free, for ten years. Most French farming unions have raised concerns about the unfair competition this deal would create if implemented.
Among EU member state leaders, President Macron has been the one who was most vocally opposed to the deal, though he initially supported it (albeit briefly). He hopes to prevent its implementation by gathering around himself a “blocking minority”. Belgium, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, and Ireland, share Macron’s concerns about Mercosur, and thus are squarely on his side.
Mercosur has been dividing the Germans and the French from the get-go. The Christian Democrat leader, Friedrich Merz, who is likely to become Germany’s next chancellor, has backed the deal several times, along with outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz.
A former agricultural advisor to President Jacques Chirac and senior civil servant—who asked to remain anonymous—commented that “the reason for Germany’s support for Mercosur is its strong emphasis on the industrial sector, which has been at the heart of the EU’s policy since at least the 2000s. French agriculture has suffered as a result.”
French Farmers: An Endangered Species
The rapidly decreasing number of farmers each year and their growing suicide rate are symptoms of an agricultural sector in crisis. According to a recent study, about 30% to 50% of French farmers (212,000 to 354 000 farmers out of 708,000) will reach retirement age by 2026. Back in the 1980s, France was the EU country with the highest number of farmers in Western Europe, just under 1.4 million. Today, it lags far behind Germany, Spain, and Italy.
The all-time high suicide rate among farmers aged 15 to 64, which is 32% higher than the national average, is another issue of concern. As a consequence, about 55,000 hectares of farmland have been abandoned each year over the last 40 years.
Why is morale so low among French farmers? Their low income—around €45,000 on average per year—compared with the hard work the job requires is one explanation. Another is the piling up of European hygiene and environmental regulations, which are criticised for ignoring the realities farmers face.
“What has also heavily impacted French farmers’ revenue is the European Common Market’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 1992,” says President Chirac’s former advisor.
The French farming sector remains heavily subsidised by the European Agricultural Policy scheme (CAP). From 2023 to 2027, France is set to receive just under €9.3 billion in CAP subsidies each year for its farming sector and rural development. Though the sum looks high, it has been shrinking over the past forty years, from 73% of EU expenditure in 1985 to 25% in 2023.
Path to Survival: Grow or Specialise
Many farms remain financially sustainable due to their sufficient size, the high-quality food they produce, and European and French subsidies. Guillaume, 30 years old, runs a farm in the county of Vendée on the Atlantic coast with his parents. Together they own a thousand dairy cows, and most of their production is sold to industrial companies like Lactalis. His business is large enough to provide a sufficient income for his family.
What helps Guillaume sell his milk at a higher price than the market average is the production of Poitou butter AOP (Protected Designation of Origin, PDO). “This high-quality butter gives us a market where there’s a guarantee that our milk will be sold,”Guillaume told us at the “Salon de l’Agriculture”, where he was proudly exhibiting one of his cows. Often used by bakers and chefs for its high nutritional qualities, Poitou butter can be four times more expensive than industrial butter, and the milk used for its production can only be produced in certain parts of Western France, which gives a significant advantage to milk producers. Like Guillaume, farmers who produce high-quality products, such as meat or milk for expensive cheeses, manage to secure good wages while benefitting from EU subsidies.
To face the increased competition, many French farmers will need to merge their businesses to reduce costs while increasing production. Blocking Mercosur may only be a temporary option to counter market competition. According to government spokesperson Sophie Primas, Macron has “enough countries” to prevent the deal from being implemented. However, none of the EU countries opposed to the deal has officially supported the French president’s initiative so far.
Statement
French farmers are facing tough times. Their suicide rate is at its highest, their wages are falling, fixed costs are rising, and new national and European regulations are piling up, making their work more restrictive each year. Their mood remains better than twelve months ago, thanks to rising milk prices and lower energy costs. However, the signing of the Mercosur free-trade deal in December 2024 by the European Commission raises new fears around new competition from Latin America. More subsidies may not be a long-term solution to saving French agriculture.