France gives farmers €1billion to recover from record heatwaves
“France on Friday announced more than €1billion ($1.16b) in aid for farmers after this summer's record heatwaves and droughts devastated crops, pastures and water supplies. The support comes as the go…”
The support comes as the government is working on a politically perilous budget for next year, with Paris seeking to keep the deficit under control ahead of a 2027 presidential election. "One billion euros represents a massive effort given the current budgetary context," Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard.
About half of the package — €520 million — will be sent out as rapid payments to help farmers deal with weather damage, she said. Read:France's ex-PM calls for new party to counter far-right. France's main farmers' union, the FNSEA, said farmers had already suffered at least €10b of lost production.
The livestock and arable sectors have already estimated their losses at more than €5b each. "The immediate goal is to manage the emergency," Genevard said. Le pays a un double impératif devant lui pour son agriculture : indemniser les pertes pour éviter des faillites, et relancer la production agricole, pour ne pas perdre en souveraineté.
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Face à ce constat, j’annonce aujourd’hui au monde agricole le déploiement d’un plan à plus…pic.twitter.com/4o. UtM0al0r— Annie Genevard (@Annie. Genevard)September 4, 2026About 30,000 to 35,000 farms were in financial trouble, she said.
The aid plan also creates a €235million recovery fund to help farms buy seeds, plant and animal feed after droughts left farmland parched. Further measures include land-tax relief, help with social-security payments and a fuel subsidy.
Face à la crise, nous mobilisons plus d’1 milliard d’euros pour notre agriculture.pic.twitter.com/NU9DJytmJ6— Annie Genevard (@Annie. Genevard)September 4, 2026The finance ministry has said this summer's dry and hot weather could shave 0.1 percentage points off France's economic growth this year, mainly due to lost farming revenue.
Another heatwave is expected this week in the European Union's largest agricultural producer. Europe, the world'sfastest-warming continent, has been ravaged by record-breaking heat and destructive wildfires this summer, with France and Spain particularly hard hit in recent weeks.
The European Union will push its member countries to spend more on measures to reduce wildfire risk, its environment commissioner, as experts said the economic cost of this summer's blazes had already exceeded $17.3b.
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