FNSEA demands emergency aid plan as French farmers face climate crisis

Arnaud Rousseau, president of the FNSEA, warned on Saturday that French agriculture is confronting an unprecedented climate catastrophe marked by heatwaves, drought and wildfires. He called for a "shock of reactivity" and an emergency aid package worth billions of euros to support cash‑flow, social‑security contributions and rapid re‑planting, especially for crops such as rapeseed.

The government announced a "global plan" that will include cash‑flow assistance, simplified procedures, water‑management measures and other support for the most affected farms, but detailed figures are expected only by the end of August. Rousseau said Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had invited him to a meeting at Matignon in September to discuss the response. Other farm union leaders, including Bertrand Venteau of the Coordination rurale, criticised the proposal as too modest.