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農民怒火蔓延全歐 拖拉機「圍城」
大公報 2024/02/08
2月1日，農民們駕駛拖拉機前往希臘塞薩洛尼基的農業博覽會進行抗議。法新社
大公報綜合路透社、法新社、美聯社、《紐約時報》報道：連日來，歐盟逾10個國家的農民爆發了農民駕駛拖拉機等農用車輛堵塞高速公路，甚至封鎖城市的抗議活動，要求歐盟採取更多措施解決通脹及生產成本上升、環保法規和廉價進口農產品傾銷等問題。面對農民們的連串怒火，歐盟也不得不做出部分讓步，包括擱置爭議性的減少使用農藥的提案。
踏入2024年，因為不滿生計受損，大規模農民抗議活動在全歐蔓延。大多數參與示威的都是家庭農場主，他們抱怨通脹和俄烏衝突造成生產成本上升，政府削減農業補貼，而歐盟為實現減排目標，對農業生產制定了更多的環保監管規定，讓農民們雪上加霜。
法國農民的抗議始於1月22日，他們在多地的高速公路、橋樑上用拖拉機等設置路障，阻塞交通，南部農民們甚至將羊群趕進城裏示威。1月29日，法國農民發動了「圍困」巴黎，堵塞了進出首都的主要交通要道。據法國內政部報告，約有1萬名農民參與其中。
在德國，政府因為出現了逾600億歐元的預算缺口，決定逐步取消對農業柴油的稅收減免，因此從1月中開始，農民駕駛10萬輛拖拉機舉行了為期一周的抗議活動，首都柏林和第二大港口城市漢堡，都出現交通要道被圍堵的情況。意大利的農民們也用拖拉機和收割機，圍堵米蘭附近的梅利格納諾高速公路入口。
羅馬尼亞、保加利亞、波蘭和比利時的農民，近期也因類似的訴求，爆發抗議。2月1日歐盟峰會期間，多國農民駕駛1300輛拖拉機堵塞了布魯塞爾歐盟峰會周邊地區，其間不斷在場外縱火、投擲雞蛋，向歐盟領導人施壓。2月6日開始，西班牙農民一連兩天駕駛拖拉機堵塞公路，要求歐盟修改政策，遏止農業生產成本急升。
農民示威成歐洲議會選戰焦點
隨着歐洲議會選舉將在6月舉行，農民抗議迅速成為選戰焦點。歐洲右翼勢力尤其是極右政黨，試圖吸納農民票，改寫政治版圖。農民是歐洲議會最大黨團、中右翼「歐洲人民黨」的主要支持者。一些農民表示，他們希望在6月投票時支持右翼政黨，以抗議歐盟的氣候行動。法國極右翼政黨國民聯盟歐洲議會議員候選人瑪麗昂·勒龐表示，如果她當選，將阻止歐盟與南方共同市場國家的協議等未來的自貿協議。
分析認為，農民一旦繼續示威，將加快歐洲議會向右傾，從而影響歐盟的環保政策。
歐盟環保政策兩面不討好
連續數周的農民抗議活動，已讓歐洲多國首都和經濟命脈受到干擾，影響數千萬民眾日常生活，並導致企業因運輸延誤而損失數千萬歐元。歐盟選擇再一次向農民讓步。上周，歐盟宣布計劃保護農民免受烏克蘭廉價產品的影響，並允許農民使用一些因環境原因而被要求休耕的土地。
歐盟委員會主席馮德萊恩在本周二建議，暫時擱置減少農業農藥殺蟲劑使用的計劃，更形容相關提案，已成為「兩極分化」的象徵。歐盟的目標是到2030年將農藥殺蟲劑和其他有害物質的總體使用量，減少50%。該提案遭到了環保人士和農業團體的共同批評，前者認為實現可持續發展力度不足，而後者則堅持認為提案會導致農民破產。歐盟委員會同時也放棄了2040年減排新目標提案中的關鍵部分內容，農業污染減少30%的內容已被刪除。
外界認為，歐盟的新環保法規具體內容，要留待歐洲議會選舉結束才有眉目。在法國，農民抗議活動已達到臨界點，政府承諾提供超過4億歐元的額外財政支持，才換來兩大農民工會暫時取消抗議活動。但農民指出，這些不足以彌補他們因為俄烏衝突、生產成本上升和氣候等問題所造成的損失。
法國農民抗議「自然復育法」衝擊生計 開拖拉機包圍巴黎
法國農民控訴當局政策不當，導致競爭不公，將從今天開始發起無限期「圍攻」首都巴黎行動，封鎖主要公路幹道，並朝向巴黎移動。
法國農民多日來在全國各地展開行動，部分因為他們對政府的官僚作風和環境政策感到憤怒，稱他們的獲利因而受損，讓他們無法和其他法規較寬鬆的鄰國農民競爭。
法新社報導，法國各地農民駕駛拖拉機和卡車封鎖道路，阻塞交通。他們計畫今天下午擴大對政府施壓，在前往巴黎的主要幹道，建立8個據點阻塞交通。
法國政府計畫動員1萬5000名警力和國家憲兵維安，他們被告知執法時要展現「節制」。
法國內政部長達馬南（Gerald Darmanin）在農民「圍攻」巴黎行動前說：「我們無意讓政府建築、稅務機關或雜貨商店遭到破壞，也不想讓運輸外國農產品的卡車被擋下。這顯然不能被接受。」
法國巴黎附近的農民，把拖拉機停在高速公路上，抗議標語牌上寫著「憤怒的農民」。 （路透）
他表示，法國總統馬克宏（Emmanuel Macron）已下令展開維安行動，以確保戴高樂機場（Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport）和歐利機場（Orly Field）維持開放，並使巴黎最大生鮮批發市場杭吉斯（Marchede Rungis）持續營運。
法國總理艾塔爾（Gabriel Attal）昨天視察一處農場，力圖解決農民的訴求。當局26日曾宣布一連串讓步措施，但未能化解這場危機。
艾塔爾說：「我希望我們釐清狀況，看可以採取那些額外的措施，以解決農民稱他們面臨不公平競爭的抱怨。」
艾塔爾也認同某些作法不對，像是法國農民依環境規定不得使用特定產品，但義大利等鄰近國家農民仍可使用。
農民也對他們的生活條件深感不滿，像是薪資少、年金低，官僚繁文縟節。
全國農人工會聯盟（FNSEA）主席羅梭（Arnaud Rousseau）昨天表示，工會成員希望政府能有更多作為。
路透社報導，法國農業部長費諾（Marc Fesneau）今天表示，法國希望本周內做出決定，以修改歐洲聯盟（EU）「自然復育法」（Nature RestorationLaw），協助國內的農民。這項法規是關於在最新生物多樣性要求下農地必須休耕的規定。
費諾告訴法國第2電視台（France 2）：「在接下來的48小時，我們將提出一些措施。」
費諾說，去年通過的歐盟「自然復育法」是爭議議題之一，法國希望能夠修改，以協助國內的農民。
比利時農民今天也展開抗議，歐洲各國許多農民抱怨在面臨國際競爭和全球化之際，歐盟對他們的協助不足。
歐洲議會去年通過歐盟「自然復育法」，以復原遭破壞的自然生態環境，扭轉歐洲自然棲息地萎縮的問題，而引發激烈的爭議。
然而，不少農民抱怨此舉將對他們的生計造成衝擊。
Why French farmers are up in arms: fuel hikes, green regulation, EU directives
French farmers have engaged in a standoff with the government to express anger over a perceived lack of respect, rising costs and suffocating EU regulation. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal seeks to calm the protesters while the far-right National Rally hopes to take advantage of their anger, just five months before the European elections.
By: Louis CHAHUNEAU
A woman passes by a farmer as he takes part in a protest against taxation and declining income, in Toulouse on January 16, 2024. © Ed Jones, AFP
"It is not insignificant that this [the protest movement] comes from the south of the country," said François Purseigle, a sociology professor at the French agronomy faculty of the Toulouse Institute of Technology. "Farmers are on the frontline of climate change, with successive droughts taking place, and they have been repeatedly told they are not doing enough for the environment."
Read moreCan technological fixes solve France’s water crisis amid record droughts?
Surprised by the farmers’ blockades, France’s government announced a delay of “several weeks’” for reforms announced over a year ago to help farmers. The stakes are high: France lost 20% (101,000) of its farms between 2010 and 2020, according to a recent survey.
“Many young people today prefer to avoid self-employment because they would earn less than a farm employee, and this should not be the case,” said Yohann Barbe, a cattle farmer in the Vosges department in northeastern France. Successive governments have been struggling to stop the phenomenon. “Nearly 200,000 farmers will be of retirement age by 2026, but there are not enough buyers [to take over their farms],” said Purseigle. “There is a gap between Macron’s speech on 'civic rearmament' and the reality of farmers who feel completely disarmed.”
'We can't expect farmers to shoulder the ecological transition'
The vulnerabilities of farmers are increasing day by day. “Emmanuel Macron made a great speech on agriculture during a meeting at Rungis International Market in 2017, but never acted upon it. We're fed up,” Barbe said.
Protesters say their movement, which originated in the southwest, is bound to spread nationwide, especially if the government does not quickly respond to their grievances. These include the government’s move to increase taxes on agricultural diesel, a polluting fuel, used by farmers, that has long benefited from government tax breaks. The move will directly affect the sector's production costs.
Read moreFrench politicians attempt to appease angry farmers ahead of European elections
Farmers are also denouncing non-compliance with a law passed in 2018 which guarantees that hikes in production costs be covered by the agrifood chain through trade negotiations.
"I sell my milk to Savencia (an agribusiness group), even though I don't even know how much milk will cost on February 1, because we didn’t reach an agreement with them in December," said Barbe, who is also a member of the National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA). In another example, the 2018 law required 20% of the food distributed in canteens to be organic by 2022, but the threshold is still stagnating at around 6%, according to the French newspaper Les Echos. "We can't expect farmers to shoulder the ecological transition by themselves,” said Barbe.
The European Union targeted
Also jarring to farmers are the mounting environmental standards put on agricultural production. They point out that the frequent transposition of European directives make national standards even stricter than European standards. “We are not against more supervision, but we need compensation on prices,” said Barbe. This comes at the risk of losing to foreign competition. France imported more than one chicken out of two consumed in 2022 from abroad (notably, from Belgium, Poland and Brazil).
The farmers are also holding the European Union itself responsible for their situation. With a budget of €53.7 billion for the 2023-2027 mandate, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. Farmers describe it as dysfunctional. “For the first time, the CAP subsidies have still not yet been paid to all our farmers in 2023. Several farmers are having problems with their bank or their suppliers, who they weren’t able to pay as a result," said Barbe.
The far-right National Rally did not hesitate to use this anger against Brussels to launch its campaign for the European elections in June. Jordan Bardella, chief of the National Rally, spent last Sunday with workers on the wine-growing lands of Médoc.
“The European Union and the Europe of Macron (want) the death of our agriculture,” said Bardella. "French farmers are exposed to unfair competition from products from around the world which don't respect the strict standards that they (French producers) have to observe," he added.
For Purseigle, the farmers' anger will be a major theme in the coming European elections. “If they have succeeded in one area, it is in putting agricultural issues on the political agenda,” he said. The newly appointed Prime Minister Gabriel Attal also rushed to the Rhône department in east-central France on Saturday before receiving the FNSEA and the Young Farmers Union Monday in an effort to calm the discontent. “Politics is also about responding to emotions,” Purseigle noted.
As for the farmers, they have already announced they won't hesitate to block Paris and disrupt the Paris International Agricultural Show, which begins on February 24, if the government ignores their demands.
This article was translated from the original in French.
