French farmers returned to the streets of Paris on Tuesday, driving hundreds of tractors into the capital to protest a proposed EU Mercosur trade deal they say would undercut local agriculture with cheaper South American imports.
The demonstration marked the second tractor protest in the city within a week and reflected mounting anger among farmers across France and other European Union states over trade policy, rising costs, and what they describe as unfair competition.
France is the EU’s largest agricultural producer, and opposition to the EU Mercosur agreement has become a flashpoint between farmers, the government, and Brussels.
Tuesday’s protest was organized by the FNSEA, one of France’s biggest farming unions. Paris police estimated around 350 tractors took part, with convoys converging near the Arc de Triomphe and the National Assembly.
Last Thursday, another union, Coordination Rurale, staged a surprise demonstration near the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, signaling growing coordination among farm groups.
Damien Greffin, vice president of the FNSEA and a farmer from the Paris region, said the deal threatens to open the door to imports that do not meet the same standards as French products.
“The Mercosur agreement was approved even though the European Parliament has not had its say,” Greffin said outside parliament. “This will lead to imports of goods we can already produce in France, but without respecting the standards imposed on French farming.”
The protests intensified after most EU member states approved the Mercosur agreement on Friday, despite France’s opposition. The decision has increased pressure on the French government from both farming groups and opposition parties, some of which have filed no confidence motions.
Farmers say the agreement would worsen an already severe crisis in the sector.
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“Farming is going through a crisis like we’ve never seen, and we need to make ourselves heard,” said Guillaume Lefort, a crop farmer from Seine et Marne, speaking in front of the National Assembly while holding an FNSEA flag.
Greffin said the FNSEA plans to take its protest beyond Paris, with a demonstration scheduled at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on January 20.
Farmers across Europe have repeatedly criticized the EU Mercosur deal, arguing that lower cost imports from South America would erode local production while holding European farmers to stricter environmental and labor rules.
With tensions rising and protests spreading, the agreement is shaping up to be a major test for both the French government and EU trade policy in the months ahead.