Pas-de-Calais: Farmers and fishermen demonstrate against European standards
Land and sea have come together in one voice of protest in the Pas-de-Calais this Sunday. Indeed, farmers and fishermen decided to express their discontent against the European standards which, according to them, threaten the sustainability of their profession and handicap their competitiveness.
A massive mobilization
Thousands of people, displaying banners and tense in the freezing wind, gathered this weekend in Calais to express their concern about the new regulations emanating from the European Commission. THE farmers particularly denounce agricultural standards which they find excessive and often disconnected from the reality of their daily work.
The farmers' point of view
Several farmers spoke during the demonstration, explaining how these regulations weaken their farms. Alain Dubois, a cereal grower from the region, expressed himself in these terms: "We have the impression that Brussels wants to put obstacles in our way . We are being held to ever more stringent standards, and these standards come at a cost.”
Fishermen also share this anger
But the farmers are not the only ones to express their fed up. THE fishermen of Pas-de-Calais, they too, express their dissatisfaction with the new fishing standards imposed by Europe.
The problem of fishing quotas
On the front line, the fishing quota system, supposed to preserve endangered species, is denounced as inappropriate and punitive. “We are the ones on the ground, who know the sea and the fish best. Yet we find ourselves limited by quotas imposed arbitrarily by bureaucrats who have never been on a trawler” denounces Pierre Leclercq, a fisherman from Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Anger shared by other regions
These challenges to Pas-de-Calais echo those of other regions of France. Farmers and fishermen now wish to unite at the national level to make their voices heard in the face of European standards.
These demonstrations demonstrate the incomprehension and frustration of a significant part of the French rural world towards regulations seen as obstacles to their activity. Will Europe, listening to these demands, be able to find a balance between preserving the environment and supporting these sectors that are essential to our territories and our food sovereignty?
