Paris Agriculture Show Opens Without Cattle as Macron Meets Divided Unions

Overview

• The 62nd Salon de l’agriculture opened without bovines for the first time in decades due to the dermatose nodulaire contagieuse outbreak, with organizers pivoting to about 3,500 other animals and a reduced exhibition area.
• Authorities reported no new dermatose cases in France since January 2 and lifted most regulated zones, keeping only a small area in Pyrénées-Orientales linked to a case in Spain.
• FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs attended the presidential breakfast, the Confédération paysanne maintained its boycott, and Coordination rurale ultimately held a bilateral meeting with Emmanuel Macron.
• Security was significantly reinforced for the presidential visit, including an estimated 250 plainclothes officers, as organizers tightened rules on demonstrations and political walkabouts.
• Macron reiterated the priorities to “produce, preserve, protect,” faced union pressure for a promised agricultural emergency law, and fielded concerns over EU‑Mercosur and a separate Australia trade deal, with the Élysée signaling a further meeting to come.