One group comprises big farms. Given land consolidation and subsidies to increase productivity, large-area farms have emerged as a result of CAP. They are the winners of the existing setup, especially the cereal growers. This group’s umbrella organization, La Federation Nationale des Syndicats d’Exploitants Agricoles (FNSEA), is the biggest farming group in the country and has, in fact, co-managed the farm business with France’s agriculture ministry since the inception of CAP.

We say farmers, but do we mean small farmers or big farmers? We need to stop pretending they have the same interests.