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The head of France’s national hunters’ lobby on Tuesday launched a new political party to “defend the countryside” in next year’s European election — a move that could steal votes from right-wing parties looking to capitalize on backlash to the Green Deal.
The small list of candidates “will get a big score,” Willy Schraen predicted at a press conference Tuesday in Paris, where he outlined the goals of his new party, which will not only gather hunters but also fishermen, farmers and small entrepreneurs.
Dubbed the Rural Alliance, the party will fight to protect the interests of traditional rural occupations — like farming, fishing and hunting — and push back against the “administrative burden” created by EU institutions in Brussels that is “choking” rural communities, he said.
Claiming that he is not out to steal votes from France’s far-right National Rally — which has also courted the farmer’s vote — Schraen nevertheless said he would be happy with that outcome. He also sought to differentiate himself from the party, saying: “We have a conservative side; we won’t deny it … but we’re not extremists.”
The new party is also staunchly pro-European, he claimed, but wants Brussels to be less meddlesome: “We want Europe to return to focusing on its fundamental task” of preserving peace and freedom, he said.
The launch of Rural Alliance fits into a broader trend that has seen new political parties pop up across the bloc this year to defend the interests of farmers and rural communities. Typically, they’ve been set up by farmers and hunters who feel they are not represented by traditional political parties.
In the Netherlands, the freshly formed FarmerCitizenMovement (BBB) landed a major victory in regional elections in March, off the back of a campaign against national plans to halve nitrogen emissions from farming by 2030. It has since lost some momentum, gathering only 4.7 percent of votes in last month’s parliamentary election.
In Ireland, the Farmers’ Alliance party, created in April, is championing food security and land protection, among other issues, and challenging key EU policies on cuts to nitrogen emissions and new nature restoration targets.
Established parties, too, have sought to brand themselves as defenders of rural interests, with the European People’s Party, the largest group in the European Parliament, looking to sink key elements of the EU’s Green Deal in a bid to protect farmers.
Manuel Gallardo, the head of the Spanish hunters’ federation, who attended Rural Alliance’s big unveiling on Tuesday, said he is “closely looking” at the French example and may seek to launch a similar bid in Spain ahead of the EU election in June.
Schraen has already announced he is looking for allies, saying his new party won’t sit with any of the existing political groups in the European Parliament; rather he plans to establish a new political group to gather like-minded farmers’ parties.
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