French farmers protested against the EU-Mercosur trade deal, fearing intensified competition and unfair standards. With rural anger rising, protests may escalate as France's government faces mounting pressure to address agricultural concerns.
PARIS, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Farmers staged protests across France on Monday at the prospect of a trade deal between the European Union and South America's Mercosur bloc, which will further intensify competition for the French agriculture sector.
The EU and four Mercosur members - Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay - are pushing to conclude long-running trade negotiations by the end of the year.
Monday's protests were the biggest since French farmers held weeks of large-scale demonstrations last winter over cheaper imports, burdensome regulations and meagre incomes.
The protests were mostly peaceful on Monday but tractors briefly blocked part of a highway near Paris in the morning, while others dumped manure in front of government buildings.
"We have the same demands as in January, nothing has changed," Armelle Fraiture said on her dairy farm north of Paris. "We must make the government understand that enough is enough."
This year French farmers have had to contend with rain-hit harvests, livestock disease outbreaks and a parliamentary election that delayed measures promised to defuse the previous protests.
A Mercosur deal would represent a bitter "cherry on the cake", Arnaud Rousseau, head of France's main farmers' union, the FNSEA, told BFM TV.
Tens of thousands of farms in France, the EU's biggest agricultural producer, were in financial trouble, he said.
French farmers fear a Mercosur accord will bring more beef, chicken, sugar and maize from Brazil and Argentina, countries they say use pesticides on crops and growth antibiotics in livestock that are outlawed in Europe.
Protests are planned to run into December, FNSEA said.
"There's a lot of anger out there," the head of Young Farmers group Pierrick Horel told RMC radio.
"Even if we don't approve the destruction of products, there comes a time when, unfortunately, it comes out, sometimes very strongly, very vehemently."
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday reiterated his opposition to a deal with Mercosur as proposed.
But with France lacking EU allies in the Mercosur talks, and rural grievances running deep, the authorities may struggle to placate the farmers.
Similar frustration was voiced by farmers across Europe last winter after a surge in imports from Ukraine following Russia's invasion in 2022.
U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to make the Strait of Hormuz part of U.S. territory have been mocked by Iran's Deputy Foreign Ministe...
At least 20 people have been killed after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia early on Saturday, ...
The United Nations has urged sustained international engagement with Afghanistan five years into Taliban rule, warning that restrictions on women a...
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or rerouted at Catania Airport over the past week as ash from Mount Etna’s ongoing eruption continues to disrupt air travel in Sicily.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
The U.S. will impose unprecedented measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said.
One person has been killed and six others injured after an explosion at a petroleum storage facility at the Port of Rotterdam, prompting an investigation into the cause.
Record rainfall in Japan killed eight people and stranded thousands of travellers at Tokyo's Narita Airport on Friday, as flooding disrupted transport and cut power to 20,000 homes.
At least 20 people have been killed after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia early on Saturday, triggering small tsunami waves and dozens of aftershocks, officials say.
Jason Arday, the former University of Cambridge professor at the centre of a plagiarism row, has been found dead. He was appointed Cambridge's youngest ever Black professor in 2023, but quit on 5 August, after being accused of lifting passages from his PhD from the work of other academics.
Wildfires across England and Wales have reached their highest level on record, according to the National Fire Chiefs Council, as firefighters struggle to contain outbreaks following a spell of extreme heat.
A federal court has allowed the Trump administration to move forward with ending temporary immigration protections for Somali nationals living in the United States, a decision that could leave more than 1,000 people vulnerable to deportation.
Iran and Afghanistan are seeking closer cooperation in agriculture, livestock and irrigation during a three-day Iranian ministerial visit to Kabul, as both sides look to strengthen trade and rural economies.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment