FNSEA calls government drought relief plan non-binding

Paris – 06.08.2026: France’s largest farmers’ union, the FNSEA, has sharply criticised the government’s overall plan to support agriculture during heat, drought and fires. The proposal is merely a declaration of intent and by no means an action programme, the union said. Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard presented the measures on Wednesday and assured that no farm would be left alone in the crisis.

The criticism is directed primarily at the gap between administrative support and immediately available aid. Crop losses, feed shortages, higher irrigation costs and damage to livestock or crops are already placing a financial burden on many farms. The FNSEA is therefore demanding instruments with clearly defined access, funding and timetables. The union is questioning not so much the objective of state support as its practical scope.

On 1 July, the Ministry of Agriculture had already presented a package of immediate and precautionary measures. These included easier mowing and grazing of fallow land in fire-prone areas without cuts to EU agricultural payments, the postponement of non-urgent inspections, and technical advice. The ministry also announced talks with insurers to speed up the settlement of crop damage claims.

Other measures were still under review at the time. These included aid for livestock farmers to finance ventilation and misting equipment, liquidity loans, subsidies for feed transport, and stronger social support through the agricultural social security system, MSA. These unresolved commitments are now the FNSEA’s main point of attack: in the union’s view, they replace neither rapidly available liquidity nor reliably regulated compensation.

The pressure to act is considerable. According to the Ministry for the Environment, France is experiencing an early and severe drought in the summer of 2026. Soil moisture is very low nationwide, and since the beginning of June numerous rivers have been carrying significantly less water. Around one third of monitoring stations are recording water levels that, statistically, are reached or fallen below on average only once every 20 years. One quarter of small and medium-sized watercourses have already dried up.

Prefects can gradually restrict water abstraction depending on local conditions. At the highest crisis level, agricultural withdrawals are prohibited in full or in part, primarily to safeguard drinking water supplies. This increases the pressure on farms to finance both ongoing production and adaptation to more frequent weather extremes at the same time.

Compensation channels already exist, but remain limited. In the event of losses exceeding 30 percent, certain types of damage, including to forage crops, vegetable and fruit production, or beekeeping, can be recognised as an agricultural disaster. According to the government, the national risk management system covers only an average of 20 to 30 percent of damage. This gap explains the intensity of the dispute over additional aid.