French farmers drove over350 tractors into Paris for the second time in a week on Tuesday to protest an EU-Mercosur trade deal which is due to be signed at the weekend. French farmers unions say the deal threatens local agriculture by creating unfair competition with cheaper South American imports.
Backed by FNSEA, one of France's largest farm unions, the protest action piles pressure on President Emmanuel Macron’s government after most EU member states approved the pact despite Paris’s opposition.
Farmers in France, the European Union's largest agricultural producer, and other member states have been protesting for months over the EU-Mercosur deal as well as numerous local grievances.
A separate farmers' union, the Coordination Rurale, had already brought tractors below the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe last Thursday in a surprise demonstration.
The Paris police said it estimated around 350 tractors at Tuesday's demonstration. One convoy of tractors had converged again by the Arc de Triomphe, while another convoy arrived by the French parliament building.
The route for the demonstration has been "validated" by the police prefect, after the organisers "agreed to comply with security instructions".
Unprecedented crisis
Damien Greffin, vice president of the FNSEA and a farmer from the Paris region said that the Mercosur agreement was approved "even though the European Parliament hasn't had its say".
"This is going to lead to imports of foreign goods that we are perfectly able to produce in France and that don't respect standards which are imposed on French farming," he said.
Greffin said that besides the protest in front of the French parliament, they were also planning to demonstrate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 20 January.
Thousands of Irish, French farmers protest EU-Mercosur trade deal
Just days before the signing of the EU-Mercosur agreement, scheduled for Saturday in Paraguay, farmers have stepped up their protests, including in Le Havre, France's leading commercial port, where blockades have been set up.
The ports of Bayonne and La Rochelle have also seen blockades. Other groups have set up roadblocks in regional areas across France.
The Mercosur deal's approval by most EU states last Friday, despite France's rejection, has intensified pressure on the government from farmers and opposition parties, some of which have filed no-confidence motions.
A long list
"Farming is going through a crisis like we’ve never seen and we need to make ourselves heard," said Guilllaume Lefort, a crop farmer, holding an FNSEA flag in front of the National Assembly (parliament) building.
Meanwhile, the government spokeswoman Maud Brégeon told French media on Tuesday that "dialogue and discussions are continuing".
"What the government has put on the table is not the final word," she told broadcaster TF1.
Among the topics that could be the subject of further announcements, Brégeon cited "the transfer of assets, the issue of income, the issue of water, and adaptation to climate change." "The list is obviously not exhaustive," she added.
(with newswires)
