French farmers to protest Mercosur deal boosting South American imports

NEWS WIRES
·1-min read
A placard reading, "Europe, save your farmers", at a protest on France's border with Spain on June 3, 2024.

French farmers have announced a new wave of protests next week against the European Union's planned free trade agreement with the Mercosur trading bloc, saying an increase in agricultural imports from South America will hurt their livelihoods.

Farmers are planning protests from Monday to oppose the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement, saying increased imports from South America will hurt the European Union's agriculture, the head of France's largest farm lobby FNSEA said on Wednesday.

This comes as farmers in Belgium have called for demonstrations close to the EU headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday.

"This trade agreement, which links part of the South American states to Europe, risks having dramatic consequences for agriculture," FNSEA's Arnaud Rousseau told France Inter radio.

"So we will be in all regions from Monday, for a few days, to make the voice of France heard at the time of the G20 in Brazil, and we hope that all the European countries will join us because the subject is not a country, a French subject, it is a European subject," he added.

(Reuters)


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EU-Mercosur trade deal draws ire of European farmers
EU proposes easing environmental rules on farmers to defuse protests

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