French farmers protest EU-Mercosur deal that will increase South American imports
French farmers have protested against a trade deal that would increase agricultural imports from South America, saying it hurt their livelihoods
PARIS — French farmers protested Tuesday against a trade deal that would increase agricultural imports from South America, saying it hurt their livelihoods.
The European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc, composed of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, reached an initial agreement in 2019, but negotiations stumbled due to opposition from farmers, and some European governments, leading to sweeping rallies where they particularly expressed worry about the use of pesticides in South American produce.
Tuesday's protest in Aurillac, in southern France, was the start of a fresh wave expected to spread among the European agricultural community amid concern that the deal could be finalized at the G20 summit in Brazil on Nov. 18-19 despite the French minister of agriculture, Annie Genevard, saying it was “highly unlikely."
A group of more than 600 French lawmakers also published an open letter in Le Monde, telling the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the conditions for adopting an agreement with the Mercosur bloc “have not been met."
Last week, French protesters blocked the state building in the western commune of Niort, while on Monday, the Copa-Cogeca European farmers’ group sent a letter to von der Leyen, urging her to reject the Mercosur deal and adopt “a coherent trade policy”
Meanwhile, France's three biggest farming unions have vowed action: The FNSEA, France’s largest, has called for nationwide protests once the winter sowing season ends in mid-November. Coordination Rurale has promised “an agricultural revolt” starting on Nov. 19 in Auch and
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