The French government is leading resistance against the ratification of the trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, aiming to establish the world's largest free-trade zone.
Following a series of protests by European farmers, including those from France, against various pressures impacting their revenues, a new wave of action has been initiated. Farmers, supported by Coordination Rurale (CR), a farming union, established a roadblock on the A9 motorway at Le Boulou, near the Spanish border, targeting lorries but allowing cars to pass. Serge Bousquet-Cassagne, a representative of CR, announced plans to extend the blockade to fuel depots, ports, and purchasing centers to "cause chaos and food shortages," citing concerns over the influx of produce from Spain.
The A9 motorway serves as a vital trade route between the Iberian peninsula and the rest of Europe. In Agen, protestors obstructed the prefecture with tires. The FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs, representing the majority of French farmers, have also supported these protests, which saw participation from nearly 900 farmers and over 300 pieces of farm machinery.
More than 80 protests were organized nationwide, with farmers setting up symbolic mock gallows and wooden crosses to protest the potential conclusion of the Mercosur treaty by the European Commission. The treaty has been under negotiation for two decades, raising concerns among French farmers about the competition from South American produce, which they argue does not adhere to the EU's stringent regulations on pesticides, hormones, and environmental measures.
The French government, demonstrating a rare unity across the political spectrum, has voiced its opposition to the Mercosur deal. Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon announced plans for a parliamentary debate and vote to strengthen France's stance against the treaty. President Macron, at a G20 summit in Brazil, highlighted France's position, noting that the country was not isolated in its opposition and that the agreement's preconditions are now considered obsolete.
Source: France24