French farmers drove tractors into Paris on Thursday, blocking major roads and landmarks including the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées, as protests intensified against a proposed EU–Mercosur free trade agreement that critics say threatens domestic agriculture.
The demonstrations, led by the right-wing Coordination Rurale union, disrupted traffic across the capital just one day before European Union member states are due to vote on the long-delayed trade pact with South American nations.
Farmers say the planned agreement with the Mercosur bloc—which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay—would open the European market to low-cost agricultural imports produced under standards they argue are weaker than those imposed on EU farmers.
“We are between resentment and despair,” said Stéphane Pelletier, a senior Coordination Rurale official, speaking near the Eiffel Tower. “There is a feeling of abandonment, and Mercosur is a perfect example of that,” he said, according to Reuters.
In addition to opposing the trade deal, protesters denounced rising production costs, what they describe as excessive domestic regulation, and a government policy mandating the culling of cattle to contain a highly contagious livestock disease.
Before dawn, convoys of tractors overran police checkpoints and entered central Paris, blocking traffic near the Arc de Triomphe and later assembling outside the National Assembly. Several highways leading into the city were also obstructed, including the A13 from western suburbs and Normandy.
France’s transport minister said the blockades caused traffic jams stretching up to 150 kilometers during the morning rush hour.
Tensions briefly escalated outside parliament when National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet was booed and jostled as she attempted to speak with protesters.
Later in the day, farmers from France’s largest agricultural union, the FNSEA, along with the Young Farmers group, joined the demonstrations near the Eiffel Tower in a calmer show of solidarity.
Arnaud Rousseau, president of the FNSEA, said the agreement risked undercutting European standards. “We are going to import products that do not meet our rules. That is unacceptable,” he told reporters. “We will remain mobilized.”
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The protests add to growing pressure on President Emmanuel Macron, whose minority government faces a fragile political landscape ahead of municipal elections in March and a presidential succession race in 2027, where the far right is polling strongly.
France has long opposed the EU–Mercosur deal, and government officials reiterated their resistance this week. “This treaty is still not acceptable,” government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said on France Info radio.
Farm Minister Annie Genevard said on Wednesday that even if EU member states approve the agreement, France will continue to fight it in the European Parliament, whose consent is also required for the deal to take effect.