French farmers block Paris roads over Mercosur deal
French farmers launched early-morning road blockades across Paris to protest the European Union’s pending trade deal with South American nations and the government’s handling of a cattle disease outbreak.
Members of the Coordination Rurale union drove tractors along the Champs-Élysées and blocked the Arc de Triomphe, creating traffic jams of up to 150 km. Later, farmers from FNSEA and young farmer unions joined in a peaceful demonstration near the Eiffel Tower, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Farmers fear the Mercosur deal will flood the EU with cheap food imports and have criticized the government’s cow-culling policies in response to lumpy skin disease. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot emphasized that police were avoiding clashes, saying, “Farmers are not our enemies.”
The protest adds pressure on President Emmanuel Macron ahead of the expected EU vote on the trade accord, even as France negotiates last-minute concessions and funding packages for farmers.
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