French farmers joined their government yesterday in condemning the European Union?s offer to scrap farm export subsidies, saying it was unfair, potentially dangerous and tactically inept. ?We refuse to allow agriculture to be the bargaining chip in international negotiations,? said Jean-Michel Lemetayer, the head of France?s largest farm union FNSEA.

?They have no right to sell off agriculture,? he told a news conference. France is the biggest recipient of the 43 billion euros EU farm aid paid each year. The EU?s Trade and Agriculture Commissioners Pascal Lamy and Franz Fischler announced the offer to eliminate export subsidies on Monday, saying it was intended to help stalled global trade talks. The move was conditional upon other members of the World Trade Organisation taking similar steps, they said.

The EU is the biggest user of export aids, which allow the bloc?s expensively produced farm products to compete with cheaper goods from nations like Brazil and Australia. The United States, Japan and Australia all welcomed the initiative. But France has called it unacceptable.

Its farmers agreed with their government that the European Commission, which has trade negotiating rights on behalf of the bloc, had overstepped the mark in making new concessions now.

?The Commissioners have clearly gone beyond their mandate. This is a major danger,? Lemetayer added. ?What we don?t understand in the EU attitude is why they are ready to show their hand immediately in the negotiations.?

Sybille de LA HAMAIDE