Farmers across France have stepped up protests by blocking major ports and transport routes, warning that a proposed EU trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc could devastate domestic agriculture.
Demonstrators argue the agreement would allow cheaper Latin American beef and other products into Europe, undercutting French producers who must comply with far stricter environmental and welfare standards.
Early on Monday, dozens of tractors and protesters erected straw barricades outside oil facilities at the industrial port of La Pallice near La Rochelle, while similar action disrupted operations at the ports of Bayonne and Le Havre.
In Le Havre, around 150 demonstrators slowed freight movements by inspecting trucks for compliance with EU rules, styling themselves “agricultural customs officers” rather than imposing a full shutdown. Elsewhere, farmers maintained a blockade on the A1 motorway between Paris and Lille, one of the country’s busiest routes.
Organisers say the protests will continue until at least Wednesday. What began in December as opposition to domestic rules on livestock culls linked to ‘Lumpy Skin Disease’ has broadened into a wider backlash against the Mercosur treaty, with farming groups and unions warning the deal threatens their livelihoods. Similar demonstrations have been seen in Italy, Poland and Ireland.
Mercosur includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Venezuela currently suspended. The agreement with the EU would create one of the world’s largest free-trade zones, covering more than 700 million consumers. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced the treaty will be signed in Paraguay on January 17, after approval by EU member states.
The Commission has faced criticism for pushing the deal forward just weeks after it was rejected in December. By splitting the agreement and approving a trade-only component through a qualified majority vote, the process bypassed national parliaments, allowing the pact to advance despite formal opposition from countries including France, Ireland and Austria.
It won t make any difference. Farmers are cheated upon and lied to by ” promesses”
The only solution is to get out of the EU. FREXIT