France Archives - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Who milks the cows when farmers fall sick?

April 10, 2026 Natasha Foote

Who milks the cows when the farmers fall sick? There is only one answer to that question for most: the farmers, or their families. But it is a very different story in two European countries—and while right now, access to sick leave and holidays is determined by postcode, this could soon start to change. Here, ARC2020’s Natasha Foote digs into how these farm relief services work in practice and what the ingredients for success look like for other countries that want to set up similar services for their farmers. […]

France | The Ag Coop that Shares More than Machinery

March 25, 2026 Pauline Petit

What if, instead of going into debt to invest in their farms, farmers came together to pool equipment? What if, instead of struggling to run a small farm alone, there was extra help at hand? What if new entrants could draw on the experience of more established farmers in their local area? It may sound too good to be true, but this is the reality with France’s network of Agricultural Machinery Cooperatives (CUMA). Pauline Petit reports from Plume Chat Huant, a local CUMA cooperative in north-west France. […]

France | Breaking the Silence: Big Ag’s Grip on the Wellbeing of Rural Communities

February 6, 2026 Xavier Hamon

Without rebalancing power in our agri-food systems, how can we expect our rural communities to be well? Xavier Hamon is an artisan-cook who is keenly aware of how rural powerlessness can take a toll on mental health. Here is our conversation. […]

Rural Resilience Gathering | Knowledge is the Power to Shape our Rural Futures Together

December 19, 2025 Louise Kelleher

We congregated on the last weekend in November, together with participants from 12 European countries and beyond, for our Rural Resilience Gathering 2025. We took home new perspectives, tools and best practices, a richer vision of the mosaic of rural Europe – and a full tank of hope: that we can shape our agroecological future in our communities. Report by Louise Kelleher and Pauline Petit. […]

France | Not Perfect, But Possible – Seeing is Believing at Institut de Tramayes

October 1, 2025 Ashley Parsons

In the run-up to this November’s Rural Resilience Gathering, we took a trip to the Institut de Tramayes: a centre for learning by doing, that seeks to counteract the fragmentation of intellectual knowledge and manual know-how and cultivate “whole human beings”. More than a study trip, it was a moment to reflect on what it means to build a learning space that is rooted in rural realities and ambitions. What could we learn from Tramayes that could help build a University Paysanne in Plessé, and beyond? Report by Ashley Parsons. […]

Letter From The Farm | Neighbours, Not Numbers: How Local Feeds Us All

July 31, 2025 Marie Halicki

In a farming system that demands more than it gives, Marie Halicki finds that relationships, not yields, nourish resilience, sovereignty, and sanity. […]

The EU Has the Funds but Lacks Focus – This Farm Shows What’s Possible with Both

June 10, 2025 Adèle Pautrat

Organic farming has long been hailed as the poster child for sustainable agriculture. But as the EU organic sector becomes increasingly industrialised, cracks are beginning to appear. How can we weed out the weaknesses in the current model and transition to diversified, resilient systems? Seeds4All visited the Bergerie de Villarceaux, a pioneering farm through the decades, in the hope of gleaning lessons from the past for the organic farmers of tomorrow. By Adèle Pautrat and Natasha Foote. […]

Could a Rustic Cow Reshape Local French Food Systems?

March 19, 2025 ARC

At first glance, the Nantaise cow is a relic of the past. A small, sturdy breed once common in western France, it had all but disappeared by the late 20th century. Today, thanks to a growing network of farmers and chefs, the little cow is making a quiet but powerful comeback—proving that small-scale, local production can be a serious and viable alternative to industrial farming. […]

The Food Sovereignty Scandal Made in France

March 5, 2025 ARC

France has more than enough land to feed its inhabitants. Yet almost half of French farmland serves the global export trade. Food sovereignty will remain a pipe dream as long as the absurd globalised food system continues to hold sway, says a new report by Terre de Liens. The Rural Resilience project reports from the launch event in Paris. […]

From Protests & Polarisation to Weaving Common Ground – A Year of Rural Resilience

February 5, 2025 ARC

We invite you to retrace with us the Rural Resilience project journey in 2024. Together we look back on a year that took us from rage and rollbacks to a European triangle of rural action. […]

The Power of Three – A Weimar triangle for rural Europe

December 12, 2024 ARC

Geopolitics, geography and geometry can sometimes come together as a force for good. A gathering of people from European rural and urban civil society in the Polish village of Grzybów was one such moment. The event, which was spearheaded by ARC2020 and took place at the end of November, weaved together rural, urban, farming and EU perspectives to find a common thread towards a fairer, more sustainable farming and food system. […]

BTV’s Cost: A Farmer Caught Between the Virus and the System

November 27, 2024 Marie Halicki

Marie Halicki, a newly established farmer in the French Alps shares with ARC2020 her fight against the BTV in 2024. […]

Weaving Common Ground – European Triangle for Rural Action

November 25, 2024 ARC

On 28 November – 1 December, in the rural village of Grzybów, Poland, ARC2020 is co-organising a European gathering of sustainable rural initiatives to take stock of a new political situation of Europe and to look into possibilities of cooperation: “Weaving Common Ground” between rural and urban people. In collaboration with our local hosts, the Ecological Folk High School and Ziarno association, the gathering will conclude a three-year cooperation of people in rural France, Germany and Poland. […]

France | Local Authorities Can Lead on Sustainable Food

November 18, 2024 ARC

France’s territorial food programmes are an exciting example of what can happen when local communities have a say in their food systems. An open letter signed by a collective of more than 120 French mayors and local councillors of all political stripes, 19 organisations and 7 scientists, and published on Friday in Le Monde, calls for a systemic vision and state support to local authorities who are working to advance the agroecological transition and transform local food systems. […]

Sustainable Food Systems | Feeding Ourselves Across Europe

April 24, 2024 Alison Brogan

Local communities in rural and urban areas can be powerful changemakers when it comes to food system transformation, even when national and EU policies fall way short. At Feeding Ourselves 2024, a roundtable on Bottom-Up Approaches to Sustainable Food Systems brought together actors engaged in the development of fair & ecological food systems in Germany, France and Ireland. ARC2020 was joined by Ann-Marie Weber of kollektiv von MORGEN (DE), Henrik Maas of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft (DE), Thierry Lohr, elected representative in the Municipality of Plessé (FR), and Fergal Anderson of Talamh Beo (IE). […]