France Approves a “Hidden Tariff” on EU Wines and Food Products

France’s National Assembly on Tuesday gave first-round approval to an emergency agriculture bill that would tighten rules on food imports, require public cafeterias to buy more from French suppliers and create minimum prices in farm negotiations, in a vote that exposed deep divisions over how far the state should go to protect farmers.

Lawmakers approved the measure by 369 votes to 178 after two weeks of debate marked by alliances that crossed the usual party lines. The government won backing from the far-right National Rally, while the left voted almost unanimously against the bill. The text now goes to the Senate, where lawmakers are expected to revisit several of its most disputed provisions starting June 29.

The bill is meant to answer months of anger from farmers who have pressed Paris for relief from low incomes, heavy regulation and what they describe as unfair competition from abroad. Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard called the vote a “decisive step” and said the legislation offered a concrete response to farmers’ demands. She said it was intended to fight unfair competition, ease access to water, protect farmland, simplify livestock projects, strengthen herd protection against wolves and improve farm income.

But the vote also sharpened a broader political fight over environmental rules, trade and food policy. Among the changes adopted by deputies was a provision banning imports of food produced with pesticides prohibited in France, rather than only those banned across the European Union. Lawmakers also backed a requirement that public cafeterias source products from French territory instead of merely from within Europe. Another amendment would establish minimum prices in commercial talks between farmers and food processors.

The government said those two changes could conflict with European law. Officials also warned that some of the water-related provisions could tilt governance toward economic uses at the expense of other needs. Environmental groups have been especially alarmed by measures that would make it easier to store water for agriculture and reduce procedural hurdles for reservoir projects.

The bill’s passage in the lower house was welcomed by the main farm union, FNSEA, which urged senators to show more ambition when they take up the text. The Confédération paysanne, a smaller union, criticized lawmakers for favoring agribusiness over most farmers.

The Senate is expected to become the next battleground. Laurent Duplomb, a senator who has pushed for looser pesticide rules and whose earlier proposal on reintroducing certain banned pesticides stirred strong opposition, has been named co-rapporteur on the bill. He has said he wants to use amendments to fold parts of his own proposal into the government text, reopening debate over neonicotinoids and other chemicals that remain highly contentious in France.

A senior figure in the Senate majority said Tuesday that some of those measures were likely to be introduced, though final decisions had not yet been made. The chamber’s economic affairs committee is scheduled to examine the bill on June 17.

The government will also try to restore several provisions altered by deputies during debate. Lawmakers had already restored two measures removed in committee: one easing rules for restoring wetlands and another reshaping water-capture regulations. They also authorized the government to legislate by decree to reduce administrative burdens on livestock buildings, with the aim of making it easier for farms to expand.

The bill’s water chapter has drawn particular concern from environmental organizations because it would facilitate storage projects for agriculture and remove some public-meeting requirements for so-called bassines, or water reservoirs used for irrigation. Another amendment inserted by the National Rally would prevent the executive from adopting rules stricter than European law on industrial emissions.

For farmers and food businesses alike, the stakes extend beyond politics. The import restrictions could affect sourcing decisions across France’s food chain, while minimum-price rules may alter bargaining power between growers and processors at a time when production costs remain high and pressure on margins continues across agriculture.