The FNSEA tractors left Paris on Wednesday morning. Nearly 350 FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs tractors had gathered at the National Assembly on Tuesday to demand concrete measures. In response to the farmers' anger, the government attempted to calm the situation by announcing a "second package of measures" early on Thursday afternoon, following the 300 million euros [348 million USD] announced the previous week. The measures announced by the Prime Minister include taxation, water, and nitrates, as well as an emergency agricultural law due in March. The protests continue, with blockades in several towns throughout France.
As I wrote in my letter to farmers, agricultural sovereignty cannot just be a slogan. It is a national responsibility, and it calls for decisions and action.
The protests are an expression of a demand for common sense: too many rules...
- Sébastien Lecornu (@SebLecornu) January 13, 2026
An emergency agricultural law to be presented in March
Sébastien Lecornu has announced that he has asked the French Minister of Agriculture to prepare an emergency agricultural law for the International Agricultural Show, focusing on several priorities: water, predation, and means of production. The text will be presented in March 2026. "It will then be examined by the Parliament before the summer. It will have to involve all the political forces in Parliament at an early stage."
The measures announced "can only be effective if they are rapidly implemented on the ground."
The French Corn Growers' Association (AGPM) acknowledges that "these guidelines meet the demands of the profession for clarity, pragmatism and effective mobilization of irrigation tools." But for its chairman, Franck Laborde, "the ambition must be maintained over the long term. Our agriculture needs a stable water policy, based on science, allowing reserves to be built up and infrastructures to be modernized. Exaggerated and unnecessary constraints on catchment areas must be abandoned, as they would seriously threaten our production capacity. The announced simplification of procedures and the stated desire to avoid counter-productive regulatory complexity can only be effective if they are rapidly translated into action on the ground, on farms and in local water management committees," according to AGPM, which plans to remain fully mobilized in the coming weeks.
"If we carry on like this, we will not be able to produce French potatoes tomorrow."
The Union of French Potato Producers (UNPT) took symbolic action in Paris on Tuesday. Nearly 30 tons of potatoes were dumped in front of the National Assembly. According to Geoffroy d'Evry, president of UNPT, who spoke to BFM TV on Wednesday, "the real issue is that we should be able to continue producing in France and that we should be left in peace over regulatory issues. All we want is to be able to work and make a living from our trade. We are in an extreme and catastrophic situation. We can no longer make a living from our trade. [...] If we carry on like this, we will no longer be able to produce our French potatoes."
Potatoes were handed out to anyone who wanted them on the Concorde bridge as they arrived from the square.
A symbolic action to thank the citizens who support us and to denounce the ever more demanding production standards that put a strain on the competitiveness of...pic.twitter.com/448eggz7dk
- UNPT 🥔 (@UNPT_FRANCE) January 13, 2026
"We do not intend to leave it at that," warns Confédération Paysanne
Confédération Paysanne is not satisfied with these new announcements. For the union, the Prime Minister is "merely responding to FNSEA's requests," without providing any "concrete response." Confédération Paysanne warns that they do not "intend to leave it at that. We will be pushing for measures for farmers and livestock breeders."
