French MPs, led by Josiane Corneloup from Les Républicains, have submitted a proposal calling for the end of caged farming for laying hens in the EU. The proposal, backed by 32 co-signatories from various French political groups, urges the country’s government to push for a ban on cages for laying hens and calls on the European Commission to include this issue in their 2026 Work Programme. This comes after a European Citizens’ Initiative in 2021, which garnered 1.4 million signatures demanding the end of cage farming for animals across the EU.

The proposal highlighted the unfair competition faced by cage-free farmers and expressed concerns about the credibility of the European democratic process regarding the promised legislative proposal to ban caged farming by the end of 2023, which never materialized. The co-signatories, mainly from right and center political parties, are advocating for the implementation of a ban on caged farming that aligns with both scientific recommendations and the expectations of citizens in the EU to improve animal welfare standards.