As French President Emmanuel Macron enjoyed his visit to India, where he was honored as the chief guest at New Delhi's Republic Day celebrations, accompanied by a military parade featuring two French-made Rafale fighter jets and 150 members of the "foreign force," his young government's Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, is facing the wrath of farmers in France. The farmers launched a movement that will not cease until they receive satisfactory answers from the government.

The most prominent manifestation of this movement was the "siege" imposed by the farmers on the capital, Paris, by blocking the main access points using their tractors and agricultural machinery, effectively halting traffic across six highways leading into the city. The result was endless queues of cars waiting patiently for the farmers to lift the blockade. However, the farmers preempted the matter by insisting that their movement will not stop, and that it will escalate if the new measures, which were supposed to be announced by Gabriel Attal on Friday afternoon to improve their situation, are deemed "insufficient."

The Threat of a Paris Blockade
If there is a socio-economic group that successive governments fear, it is the farmers, whose numbers have significantly decreased in France over the past years, yet whose disgruntlement and demands have risen. The farmers' movement comes just six months before the European elections, which the government dreads, while the far-right bets on it to boost their advance with the voters, as consecutive opinion polls indicate. Attal's appointment as Prime Minister lies in Macron's desire to combat the rising popularity of the "National Rally" led by presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, with Attal's youthfulness being pitted against Jordan Bardella, who will lead the far-right party’s list in the upcoming election.

On Thursday, the two most important farming unions (the National Federation and Young Farmers) raised a list to the government containing 120 demands, including 20 of utmost urgency. The demands revolve around three main themes: addressing the decline in farmers' revenues despite the increase in food prices, the complaints about the weight of laws and regulations related to climate change and the need to ease them, and the lack of consideration for the essential profession that, according to the petition, no longer receives the attention and care it deserves. The letter to the government stated that farmers "need a strong structural change and concrete measures that have been long awaited, which must be a strong indicator of the state's concern for them."

In response, Arnaud Rousse, president of the "National Federation" union, warned that the raised demands "are not a basis for negotiation, but must be considered by the government in their entirety." Facing a critical situation, Gabriel Attal quickly set out on a wide consultation round in cooperation with the Ministers of Agriculture and Environment, promising a rapid response to their demands.

It is worth noting that the reference to farmers does not only mean agriculture and land-related professions but also includes cattle breeders and other animal breeders. Farmers of various types complain about the meager prices they receive for their products while the main profits go to "intermediaries," i.e., the companies that buy the products and sell them to markets, as well as major warehouses.

Among the perennial complaints of the farming community are the regulations imposed by the European Union, including cultivated areas, the use of agricultural chemicals and pesticides, and the focus on pesticide-free production. Despite successive eras and plans, farmers' demands always seem permanent. However, it should be noted that the conditions of farmers vary between categories, and the aids coming from the European Union primarily go to large landowners and farmers, while the small ones merely get the leftovers.

Farmers demand the immediate disbursement of aids related to the European "common agricultural policy" and the promised government aids to compensate for the losses they incurred due to COVID-19, floods, and bird diseases, especially the easing of tax pressures they suffer from.

Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire, following a meeting at his ministry with distributors and actors in the food industry sector, threatened them with imposing a 2 percent tax on their sales if they failed to comply with the so-called price respect laws. Le Maire denounced the violations committed by manufacturers and distributors in price determination and in their negotiations with farmers.

The Constitutional Council's Decision Storm
The farmers’ movement was not the only focus of the government, politicians, and the media in the past hours. Attention was also focused on the decision to be issued by the Constitutional Council responsible for reviewing the conformity of laws issued by the legislative authority and the constitutional provisions regarding the immigration law approved in the Parliament at the end of last month, which sparked widespread controversy and consecutive demonstrations against it.

The government failed to secure a majority of deputies' votes until it made numerous concessions to the traditional right-wing "Republicans" party, adopting a tougher approach to dealing with immigration and migrants. Indeed, Marine Le Pen considered that the law's approval represented an "ideological victory" for her party's claims. Shortly after the law was voted on, President Macron requested the Council to review the new law, hoping that it would trim it and reject the additions imposed by the right in return for voting in favor of the law. Similarly, other parties made similar requests.

The Council's decision, issued on Thursday afternoon, annulled 32 out of the 86 articles that make up the law, specifically the additional articles that the right insisted upon. The presidential circle and the Ministry of Interior immediately confirmed that President Macron would quickly issue the trimmed law, which then comes into effect. That meant that the government considered it a success, although it is strange that the government accepted to present a draft for a parliament vote while being certain that it will not pass as it is in the Constitutional Council.

Among the main articles focused on by the Council were those addressing family reunification, reinstating the crime of irregular residence on French territory, immigrants’ access to social assistance and housing, as well as the automatic mechanism for granting nationality to those born in France, according to the principle that has been in place for decades. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin quickly considered that the Council had approved the law according to its original format, i.e., the one presented by the government without the additional amendments.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets last Sunday in dozens of French cities as a pressure tactic on the Constitutional Council to prevent it from approving the law, as it was conveyed to them. Likewise, Élysée sources reported that Macron asked the Minister of Interior to do whatever necessary to implement the law as quickly as possible, indicating the government's desire to close its chapter as soon as possible.

As expected, the right-wing, with both its components, launched fierce attacks on the "rule of judges," who are not elected. The president of the "National Rally" called for a referendum on immigration, while Éric Ciotti, the president of the "Republicans," called for "constitutional amendments aimed at preserving France's destiny." Conversely, Olivier Faure, the general secretary of the Socialist Party, expressed his "satisfaction" with the Constitutional Council's decision. However, he mentioned that the government's resort to the right, under pressure from the far-right, to pass the law in Parliament "is a stain that will not be erased from the government's chest."