To succeed Christiane Lambert, head of the agricultural union since 2017, the election will be without suspense: the new president of the FNSEA will be called Arnaud Rousseau. He will be elected at the end of the annual congress which ends this Wednesday in Angers. What is his profile? Europe 1 takes stock.
At the end of the annual congress which ends this Wednesday in Angers, Arnaud Rousseau will succeed Christiane Lambert, head of the agricultural union since 2017. Considered a figure in agribusiness, he is the boss of the fifth group French agro-food.
If Christiane Lambert was a pig farmer in Maine-et-Loire, the profile of her successor is especially reminiscent of that of the former boss of the FNSEA, Xavier Beulin, who was also president of the Avril group. With seven billion euros in profits in 2021, this agri-food giant is known thanks to the Lesieur, Isio4 or Puget brands.
A politician more than a farmer?
Arnaud Rousseau, 49, more often in a shirt suit than a polo shirt, is a graduate of the European Business School in Paris. Cereal farmer who took over the family farm in Seine-et-Marne, he is also mayor of his town of 280 inhabitants.
Over the months, internally, his candidacy has become obvious: for example, he presented a year and a half ago, the strategic project “FNSEA 2025”, a way, already, to display his ambitions. But he is also president of the French Federation of Oilseed Producers, which raises some concerns on the part of breeders.
The popularity of the FNSEA has been declining for ten years
Arnaud Rousseau has already taken a stand against the ban on neonicotinoids, and for mega-basins. His group also indicated that it invests in many companies in favor of sustainable food.
A reserve officer, promoted to the rank of captain, he will have to mobilize the troops within a union which has lost a third of its members in ten years. His appointment should be validated by the board of directors on April 13.
Source: Europe1
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