France Pledges to Ensure Food Retailers Pay Farmers Fairly

France will act to ensure food retailers agree a fair share of revenues to producers in annual price negotiations، Finance Minister Bruno le Maire said، as protests by farmers spread across the country. 

As of next week، officials from the Economy Ministry’s fraud office “will be stepping up checks on current trade negotiations to ensure that the income of agricultural producers is preserved،” Le Maire was cited by AFP as saying Saturday on a visit in Flavigny، east of Paris. 

Retailers negotiate prices at the start of each year، with a 2018 law forcing them to take into account production costs to ensure farmers aren’t selling at a loss. “I don’t want these negotiations to result in a weakening of producers’ incomes،” Le Maire added.

The protests in France coincide with similar action in Germany، where farm workers have been protesting over government plans to end a subsidy on diesel used in agriculture. Separately، French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal pledged to work to relieve unnecessary paperwork for farmers in a visit to the Rhone region on Saturday، according to AFP.