Ongoing plight of French farmers: overburdened by paperwork and monitored by satellite
The main French farming unions have now called off their widespread tractor protests on the country's roads after the government promised more concessions to meet their demands. But their grievances still remain, including mounting unhappiness at the massive levels of red tape required in their work. This is because the vital subsidies that farmers receive from the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy are subject to numerous inspections and ever more complicated restrictions. Caroline Coq-Chodorge reports on the stories of two organic farmers from the south-west of the country.
KarineKarine Moinet gets out her thick, bulging ring-folders and spreads them out on the kitchen table, confident in the impact this will have. She has carefully preserved all the farm's records ever since she and her husband Pierre set up business in 2005. “Because you never know. The [payment agency] Agence de Services et de Paiement (ASP), which monitors our farms, has already asked for proof of our seed purchases for the last six years,” Karine Moinet points out.
