“The government has chosen to support fishermen and I thank it”reacts on Wednesday March 16 on franceinfo Olivier Le Nézet, the president of the Regional Committee for Maritime Fisheries and Marine Farming in Brittany, after the announcement by Prime Minister Jean Castex of a resilience plan and a “exceptional financial assistance” to help fishermen weather soaring energy prices.
This aid consists of a reduction of 35 centimes per liter of fishing diesel and will be implemented until the end of July. “This is an answer that was eagerly awaited by all fishermen to be able to continue their activity”, indicates the president of the Regional Committee for Maritime Fisheries and Marine Farming in Brittany. The fishermen are “very dependent on fossil fuels”assures Olivier Le Nézet.
Some fishermen took part on Tuesday in the blocking of oil depots in Brest and Lorient to denounce the soaring price of fuels. In addition, since 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday March 16, the Total refinery in the industrial zone of Lespinasse, north of Toulouse, has been blocked for the same reasons by the union of Young Farmers of Occitanie.
For Baptiste Imbert, cereal farmer and member of the Young Farmers of Aude, guest of franceinfo Wednesday March 16, the resilience plan is “a completely ridiculous and useless ad”. The Prime Minister announced an envelope of 400 million euros to finance exceptional aid for farmers but according to Baptiste Imbert, “It represents nothing at all in financial terms, nothing at all!”
The Young Farmers carried a claim that was not heard: the cap at one euro per liter on non-road gas (GNR), used for agricultural machinery. “An average over ten years, a high average so we made a move”, believes Baptiste Imbert. A “Immense disappointment” for the grain farmer: “Today, on my farm, it represents the equivalent of a salary over a year, an additional salary to go out to pay for this increase.”
“The debt is such that some companies will not be able to sign state-guaranteed loans”, reacts this Wednesday on franceinfo François Asselin, president of the Confederation of small and medium-sized enterprises (CPME). And he develops: “Today, a company that resigns a PGE arrives at a debt ratio that may not allow it to be able to repay this loan guaranteed by the State, since there is often a one to two year lag and after , it must be amortized over four or five years.