France's agricultural emergency law draws farmer criticism over wolf rules

The French government’s accelerated agricultural emergency bill, examined by the Economic Affairs and Sustainable Development committees on 6 May, includes measures on local production, environmental buffers and a new legal status for the wolf. The text will be debated in a public session of the National Assembly starting 19 May.

The Caf loup coalition – representing chambers of agriculture, young farmers and the FNSEA – issued a statement on 11 May calling the bill “disappointing.” It argues the legislation fails to protect livestock from wolf predation, citing vague criteria for shooting permits and inadequate provisions for rapid intervention. The group urges, among other changes, automatic authorisation of appropriate shooting methods (including thermal‑vision devices), the ability to act within national parks, and removal of the requirement to implement vulnerability‑reduction measures before defensive killing. The CAF loup also demands a clear, separate legal status for wolves, noting a February ministerial decree that increased the annual allowable wolf culls fell short of its expectations.