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France Offers Emergency Farm Law and Water Moratorium as Tractors Exit Paris, Regional Blockades Roll On

The pledge sets a March timetable for an agricultural urgency bill, signaling concessions after overnight talks on cash‑flow relief.

Overview

  • Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the emergency bill will go to the Council of Ministers in March and be debated before summer, focusing on water, wolf predation and production tools.
  • He ordered a halt to water-related decisions, suspended rules setting withdrawable volumes until September, and opened talks on derogations to the EU nitrates directive, with a request to the European Commission under consideration.
  • After a midnight meeting with Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard, FNSEA leaders reported commitments on treasury and restructuring loans for heavily indebted farms, prompting convoys to leave the capital before dawn.
  • Authorities counted about 350 tractors in Paris on Tuesday; by Wednesday morning they had departed, while actions continued on the A64 near Toulouse, on the A50 in the Var, and at fuel depots in Indre‑et‑Loire and the Marne.
  • The government’s new steps build on a €300 million package already unveiled as protests over trade, regulation and costs continue nationwide.