More than 80% of the 940 million animals slaughtered annually in France are raised in intensive farming systems that routinely break article L214 of the Rural and Maritime Fisheries Code. This law aims to protect animal welfare by ensuring that animals are not subjected to harmful conditions. However, many farms use practices that violate this law, such as keeping animals in extremely high densities, using cages, performing painful procedures without anesthesia, and separating young animals from their mothers. These conditions prevent animals from engaging in natural behaviors like moving freely, exploring, or resting comfortably, and can lead to chronic pain and distress. Scientific organizations have confirmed that many farming practices cause significant suffering to animals. These findings are reflected in several legal frameworks, including the French Education Code and the French Civil Code, which now recognize animals as sensitive beings. The European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) has also noted that intensive farming systems fail to meet the "five freedoms" — a set of basic standards for animal welfare. These include the ability to rest comfortably, express natural behaviors, avoid distress, avoid pain, and not be hungry. For example, 95% of pigs live on concrete floors, 99% of rabbits are raised in cages, and 94% of calves destined for slaughter are separated from their mothers at birth. For over fifty years, the French government has failed to enforce the law effectively. By authorizing practices that cause suffering, limiting inspections to just 1% of farms each year, and only sanctioning 2.7% of inspected farms — despite 58% having non-compliance issues — the state has not fulfilled its legal duties. The association L214, created in 2008, has documented numerous cases of animal cruelty in farms and slaughterhouses, filing 129 complaints. These efforts have led to ten official condemnations of the government's negligence in its oversight role. In an op-ed published on October 4, 2026, by the online newspaper Reporterre, about fifty lawyers called for an end to intensive farming. They emphasized that animals have been legally recognized as sentient beings since 1976, and that their needs must be respected. However, they noted that more than 80% of the nearly 1 million animals slaughtered each year in France come from farms that continuously violate the rural code. The signatories argue that it is time to fully enforce the law, not only to protect animals but also to uphold the rule of law and the public interest. They call for technical and financial support to help farmers transition to more humane systems, rather than placing the burden solely on them.