The peasants are revolting
Many French farmers have chosen to eke out their livings on marginal land - like goat farmer Jose Bove who, in his reaction to the globalisation of farming, has become the country’s anti-capitalist hero.
Small farmers in France believe the EU is destroying the social fabric of their regions, and that the constitution which they voted against would have delivered the death blow.
They may be right. Designed to simplify decision-making in the expanded EU-25, the constitution would accelerate what French farmers and many other European farmers interpret as Brussels’ drive towards ever-increasing productivity, and the eventual death of small-scale farms.
About 70% of France’s 650,000 farmers voted No, although they are by far the main beneficiaries of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). But the large population of French small farmers say that subsidies are unequally shared out, and complain that big farmers often derive more than half their income from the EU. Some farmers here may share these views, as rising costs and falling prices make their lives ever more difficult.
Even in the Single Payment System, removing the link between production and subsidies still leaves most of the aid going to intensive producers.
There is also confusion among European farmers, not helped by unclear statements from Brussels. Farmers are asking themselves are they in business to feed Europe, or to feed as many people as possible.
Brussels has been telling farmers self-sufficiency in food is no longer a priority. For many French farmers, the priority seems to be about lifestyle.
What farmers know for sure, at least in France, is that they are disappearing.
A century ago, half the French population worked the land; even in 1946, three in 10 did so. Now, about 2.5% are in agriculture. It employed 3.8m in France 1962; now it gives work to fewer than 900,000, of whom only 350,000 work full-time.
France is the world’s second biggest food exporter and largest food producer, accounting for 21.5% of EU farm output, but its farmers are unhappy.
Even on big farms, incomes have slumped, and France’s 35-hour week has exacerbated the shortage of farm workers.
How can Brussels bring these disaffected rural people along?
Across Europe, the rural development blueprint now being prepared looks like the best opportunity.
Mariann Fischer Boel, Commission for Agriculture and Rural Development, says the right rural policy is pivotal to her vision of farming and the countryside.
Her dream is to bring the fruits of technology to Europe’s green spaces, give young people a reason not to leave home for the cities, and provide economic glue to keep rural villages together.
Nothing less will reverse the damage done, and bring country people back onside, as Europe bids to add more unified political and military clout to its economic unity.
