PARIS (Reuters) – Convoys of farmers set out on Sunday to try to block roads around Paris in protest against what they say is unfair competition from abroad and excessive regulation.
Farmers in France, the European Union’s largest agricultural producer, led protests across Europe in early 2024, but the demonstrations died down as the year progressed.
However, last month’s decision by the EU and the South American nations of the Mercosur bloc to announce an agreement in principle on a free trade agreement has given new impetus to French farmers who oppose the Mercosur deal.
French farmers also remain unhappy with regulation that they say is hurting their profits. Farm union leaders will meet French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on January 13 to express their concerns.
“They don’t understand the level of misery and anguish that farmers are going through right now,” Amelie Rebiere, vice president of the agricultural union Rural Coordination, told BFM TV.
Supporters of the EU’s Mercosur deal, such as Germany, say it offers a way to reduce dependence on trade with China and insulates EU nations from the impact of trade tariffs threatened by US President-elect Donald Trump. .
However, many European farmers – often led by those in France – have repeatedly protested against the EU-Mercosur deal, arguing that it would lead to cheap imports of South American products, particularly beef, that do not meet EU safety standards. EU.