This is the hot news in the agricultural world at the beginning of 2025: from January 15 to January 31, 2025, 2.2 million voters are called to vote for the representatives of the agricultural chambers. These voters obviously include farmers, but not only: these elections are organized by college, with each category of agricultural actors having its own electoral body.
A mixed voting system to elect representatives of the agricultural world
A departmental agricultural chamber consists of 10 colleges: the college of farm managers and equivalents, the college of landowners and usufructuaries, the college of agricultural production employees, the college of employees of agricultural professional groups, the college of former operators, the college of agricultural production cooperatives (CUMA), the college of other cooperatives and SICA, the college of Agricultural Credit funds, the college of mutual agricultural insurance funds and agricultural social mutuality funds, and the college of general-purpose agricultural trade unions.
The voting system is mixed for the colleges of farm managers, agricultural production employees, and employees of agricultural professional groups: it is a majority and proportional system. The list that receives the most votes gets half of the seats, and then the remaining seats are distributed among the other lists proportionally with a "highest remainder" allocation. For all other colleges, it is a majority vote in a single round. This year, the electoral process introduces a new rule: tied lists are separated by retaining the list with the lowest average age against the highest currently. However, this voting method is still widely debated, with minority lists calling for more emphasis on proportionality.
The elected members of the 88 departmental, interdepartmental, and territorial chambers and the 2 regional agricultural chambers (Île-de-France and Corsica) in turn elect the members of the 11 regional agricultural chambers and regions (Brittany, Normandy, and Pays de la Loire)[1]. Finally, the meeting of the Presidents of the Agricultural Chambers constitutes Agricultural Chambers France (CDA France).
The stakes are high, as these elections occur every six years and shape the development of the agricultural sector in France, led by the Chambers of Agriculture under delegation from the State with a budget of €750 million (for the period 2022-2023). The Chambers of Agriculture therefore hold significant economic power and are tasked with supporting farmers, organizing training, providing technical advice, and informing farmers about regulatory changes.
Today, 97 Chambers out of a total of 101 are led by the alliance of the major unions National Federation of Agricultural Workers (FNSEA) and Young Farmers (JA)[2] who won 55.31% of the votes in the college of farm managers and similar positions, while 3 departments (Lot-et-Garonne, Vienne, and Haute-Vienne) are held by Rural Coordination (CR) and the Peasant Confederation is only established in Mayotte[3].
For agricultural unions, this is also a financial issue, to which the Ministry of Agriculture allocates €14 million, with a distribution key based on the results of the elections: 75% of the funding is allocated based on the number of votes received. It is estimated that 1 vote corresponds to €50 per year for 6 years. In an article on January 3, 2025, Le Figaro mentioned the "optimistic scenario" projected by Serge Bousquet-Cassagne (former president of the Lot-et-Garonne Chamber of Agriculture), with the ambition for the Rural Coordination to "preside over 25 to 50 chambers". For her part, Laurence Marandola (spokesperson for the Farmers' Confederation) announced during the debate on LCP the ambition to win the presidency of about ten Chambers.
While the French agricultural system is characterized by a multitude of different models, what projects and ideas are being promoted by these agricultural unions tasked with representing them?
Contrasting visions and agricultural practices among unions
While the FNSEA remains the dominant union actor with its ally Young Farmers, other unions – Confédération Paysanne, Coordination Rurale, and Modef (Movement for the Defense of Family Farmers) – are gaining a growing presence on the agricultural political scene, with marked demands. The content of their programs is fundamental, given the major role they play in shaping the French agricultural model.
The FNSEA promotes competitive agriculture integrated into global markets.
With its national network and historical presence, the FNSEA defends productive agriculture, structured around large farms and integrated into global markets. It emphasizes technological innovation and infrastructure development to address climate challenges and food sovereignty.
Young Farmers advocate for a vision of family farming…
… Where farmers make their decisions independently and autonomously, and where viable, livable, and transferable farms develop. The Young Farmers Union works to ensure that tomorrow, there are many farmers, vibrant territories, and that our food makes sense. The mission of Young Farmers is to ensure the renewal of generations in agriculture by facilitating access to the profession and ensuring long-term prospects for young people starting out.
The Rural Coordination defends agriculture independent of cooperatives and large agribusiness groups.
It advocates for a reform of the agricultural pricing system to ensure fair incomes for producers. The union criticizes the weight of administrative and environmental standards that it deems unsuitable for small farms. It has notably expressed its position for "a dissolution, or failing that, a radical transformation, of the OFB in the short term " in response to the agricultural mobilizations occurring in 2024. The Rural Coordination proposes to limit access to agricultural land to only active farmers, to counter land speculation. Finally, it firmly opposes agricultural imports that do not meet French standards. Invited to the 6:20 AM show on France Inter on January 7, 2025, François Purseigle analyzed that the Rural Coordination "primarily seeks to address confused farmers, who feel they have not been sufficiently supported by the State, the European Union" but "there is not truly a questioning of the productive model among them", which would make it "the number one opponent of the FNSEA".
The Confédération Paysanne advocates for small-scale peasant agriculture...
...Promoting short supply chains, agroecology, and local food sovereignty. It calls for more ambitious measures regarding environmental resilience and economic viability, such as targeted support for conversion to organic farming, and laments the inadequacy of current measures. The union advocates for an ambitious reform of the CAP and more targeted support for agroecological farms. It demands a relocalization of supply chains with the goal of food sovereignty and improving the living conditions of farmers. This relocalization aims to be coherent, maintaining balanced international economic exchanges in terms of standards and local production capacity.
The MODEF focuses on defending small family farms...
… Advocating for a more equitable redistribution of public aid. The MODEF opposes large water management infrastructures (dams, reservoirs…), which it deems harmful to biodiversity. Finally, MODEF calls for a moratorium on imports of agricultural products that do not meet French standards to limit competition from imported products.
Elections following a tense climate in the agricultural world
Following the farmers' blockades in 2024, negotiations between the major unions and the government resulted in several commitments and measures on 4 key issues:
- A constant competitiveness issue: The opposition to free trade agreements (notably with Mercosur) has led France to adopt a more cautious stance, demanding reciprocity in environmental and social standards for imported products. It is also worth noting that agricultural goods are perceived by agricultural unions as a "variable of adjustment" in economic exchanges.
- A recurring health issue:< The FNSEA has advocated for rapid and enhanced compensation in response to health crises, such as bluetongue and avian influenza, supported by the implementation of mass vaccination measures.
- An environmental issue often overlooked: In collaboration with agricultural chambers, FNSEA has proposed measures such as investing in hydraulic infrastructure and developing technological solutions like precision agriculture to adapt to climate change.
- A social issue in the background:< The food sovereignty orientation law (LOA) of May 2024 has included proposals aimed at facilitating the establishment of young farmers, to address the challenges of generational renewal and access to land.
However, these commitments did not fully meet the expressed expectations, which led to continued mobilizations at the end of 2024, with tensions crystallized by the negotiations of the EU-Mercosur agreement. In recent months, political instability and the ongoing crisis in the agricultural world have resurfaced divisions and demands regarding the reform of the CAP, unfair competition from international markets, the modalities of generational renewal, social protection, adaptation to climate change, and regulatory constraints on the practice of agriculture. In particular, the implementation of agroecological practices is regularly debated, and the approaches defended by unions are sharply divisive.
Finally, at the legislative level, 3 key facts to remember:
- The law of July 3, 2020, known as the "Chassaigne Law", modifies the system of differential supplementary pension points (RCO), established in 2014, to enhance the differential supplementary pension for farm operators. In addition to this law, the law of December 17, 2021, aims to enhance the basic pensions of non-salaried agricultural workers and primarily benefits spouses and family helpers. The Farmers' Confederation reminds us that many farmers are not covered by these new minimum pension thresholds and wishes to go further on social protection (replacement service for maternity leave, for example).
- The Agricultural Orientation Law (LOA) was adopted by the Senate on January 22, 2025, with its 130 amendments, most of which came from rapporteurs Laurent Duplomb (The Republicans)[4] and Franck Menonville (Centrist Union), raising concerns about a major environmental setback. The text will be examined in a public session starting February 4, with a final vote scheduled for February 18, just days before the opening of the Agricultural Show set for February 22 to March 2 in Paris.
- Meanwhile, on January 27, the Senate will consider a new bill aimed at "freeing agricultural production from regulatory constraints" proposed by Mr. Duplomb and Mr. Menonville. The text echoes several demands from the FNSEA and other provisions already adopted by the Senate in recent months. For example, it revisits several recent provisions regarding insecticides, introduced by the Egalim law of 2018 (ending the ban on discounts, rebates, and refunds on the sale of phytopharmaceutical products, or allowing neonicotinoids, banned in France for six years), or provides for facilitation in the construction of water retention structures.
Some resources to learn more
- Press kit Elections 2025 Agricultural Chambers: https://dordogne.chambre-agriculture.fr/fileadmin/user_upload/Nouvelle-Aquitaine/099_Inst-Dordogne/Documents/Elections/Dossier_de_Presse.pdf
- Article Le Monde: The free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur has been concluded: answers to your questions about its content and consequences:
- https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2024/12/06/the-free-trade-agreement-between-the-eu-and-mercosur-has-been-concluded-answers-to-your-questions-about-its-content-and-consequences_6405371_4355771.html
- Chassaigne Law: https://www.msa.fr/lfp/retraite/revalorisation-retraites-agricoles-loi-3-juillet and https://www.vie-publique.fr/loi/280423-loi-17-dec-2021-chassaigne-revalorisation-petites-retraites-agricoles#:~:text=L'essentiel%20de%20la%20loi,agricole%20ayant%20une%20carri%C3%A8re%20compl%C3%A8te.
- Amendment aimed at abolishing the Agency Bio: https://www.senat.fr/amendements/2024-2025/143/Amdt_II-1530.html<
- Replay " Agriculture, the great debate " on LCP National Assembly on 01/13/2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv02dzivHQU
- Representation of women: https://www.lafranceagricole.fr/vie-sociale-et-rurale/article/837399/agricultural-organizations-need-to-do-better
- Funding for agricultural unions: https://www.lefigaro.fr/economie/les-elections-aux-chambres-enjeu-financier-majeur-pour-les-syndicats-agricoles-20250114 and https://basta.media/chambres-d-agriculture-tout-comprendre-aux-enjeux-des-elections
- Key figures on the Chambers of Agriculture: https://chambres-agriculture.fr/le-reseau-chambres/qui-sommes-nous/les-chambres-dagriculture-en-chiffres
- The role of agriculture in Mercosur agreements: https://www.reussir.fr/lesmarches/accord-ue-mercosur-les-mobilisations-agricoles-peuvent-changer-la-donne and https://www.robert-schuman.eu/questions-d-europe/740-l-agriculture-variable-dajustement-des-accords-commerciaux
References
- [1] excluding members of the college of farm managers who will be elected by direct vote with a bonus seat for the leading list.
- [2] In Guadeloupe, this is a JA-Modef alliance
- [3] In 2019, the Confédération Paysanne won the elections in Loire-Atlantique by 2 votes, and ultimately lost after a new vote was organized following an appeal filed by the FNSEA-JA alliance.
- [4] Also the author of an amendment aimed at abolishing the Agency Bio as part of the Finance Bill for 2025, adopted by the National Assembly on January 18, 2025, on a wisdom opinion from the Government.
