Berliner Boersenzeitung - French farmers step up protests against EU-Mercosur deal

EUR -
AED 3.821729
AFN 72.974255
ALL 98.683763
AMD 411.60341
ANG 1.877434
AOA 948.942343
ARS 1067.294649
AUD 1.667325
AWG 1.872912
AZN 1.766397
BAM 1.959136
BBD 2.103461
BDT 124.490777
BGN 1.954748
BHD 0.392446
BIF 3080.014803
BMD 1.040507
BND 1.41378
BOB 7.213832
BRL 6.442924
BSD 1.041739
BTN 88.723218
BWP 14.408911
BYN 3.408804
BYR 20393.931164
BZD 2.095147
CAD 1.495349
CDF 2986.254066
CHF 0.934937
CLF 0.037351
CLP 1030.624406
CNY 7.594344
CNH 7.606354
COP 4592.796539
CRC 529.00074
CUC 1.040507
CUP 27.573427
CVE 110.452007
CZK 25.156432
DJF 184.918635
DKK 7.458979
DOP 63.205495
DZD 140.187997
EGP 53.155431
ERN 15.6076
ETB 132.60751
FJD 2.412002
FKP 0.824063
GBP 0.830168
GEL 2.923835
GGP 0.824063
GHS 15.313117
GIP 0.824063
GMD 74.916478
GNF 9000.238391
GTQ 8.02659
GYD 217.937472
HKD 8.083899
HNL 26.462057
HRK 7.463457
HTG 136.221948
HUF 412.346035
IDR 16875.978038
ILS 3.817952
IMP 0.824063
INR 88.568398
IQD 1364.710605
IRR 43792.328295
ISK 145.109474
JEP 0.824063
JMD 162.625343
JOD 0.737823
JPY 163.52031
KES 134.651768
KGS 90.524162
KHR 4177.933164
KMF 485.0062
KPW 936.455441
KRW 1510.596672
KWD 0.320674
KYD 0.868141
KZT 543.455353
LAK 22795.390159
LBP 93285.010822
LKR 308.46523
LRD 189.597365
LSL 19.198189
LTL 3.072346
LVL 0.629392
LYD 5.115711
MAD 10.481347
MDL 19.177825
MGA 4911.268115
MKD 61.526526
MMK 3379.525148
MNT 3535.641604
MOP 8.336774
MRU 41.483236
MUR 48.748095
MVR 16.023987
MWK 1806.441142
MXN 21.026356
MYR 4.671803
MZN 66.492258
NAD 19.198189
NGN 1611.755331
NIO 38.335274
NOK 11.81859
NPR 141.952566
NZD 1.8418
OMR 0.400595
PAB 1.041709
PEN 3.885816
PGK 4.226196
PHP 60.888375
PKR 290.264239
PLN 4.265505
PYG 8132.847967
QAR 3.79793
RON 4.97581
RSD 116.969615
RUB 105.324802
RWF 1442.766499
SAR 3.908671
SBD 8.723145
SCR 14.695976
SDG 625.860149
SEK 11.498426
SGD 1.41215
SHP 0.824063
SLE 23.714401
SLL 21818.90823
SOS 595.408091
SRD 36.545739
STD 21536.38775
SVC 9.115521
SYP 2614.304532
SZL 19.19268
THB 35.740887
TJS 11.380667
TMT 3.652178
TND 3.317849
TOP 2.436974
TRY 36.620118
TTD 7.076049
TWD 34.016259
TZS 2505.017045
UAH 43.786135
UGX 3828.48204
USD 1.040507
UYU 46.609363
UZS 13440.756676
VES 53.558659
VND 26480.895312
VUV 123.531038
WST 2.874699
XAF 657.047352
XAG 0.035095
XAU 0.000399
XCD 2.812021
XDR 0.798652
XOF 657.069491
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.516834
ZAR 19.29655
ZMK 9365.807367
ZMW 28.829287
ZWL 335.04273
  • RIO

    0.5900

    59.23

    +1%

  • BCC

    -0.5100

    122.24

    -0.42%

  • CMSC

    0.0420

    23.902

    +0.18%

  • SCS

    -0.0900

    11.65

    -0.77%

  • BTI

    -0.0200

    36.22

    -0.06%

  • NGG

    0.5200

    59.02

    +0.88%

  • BCE

    -0.3200

    22.84

    -1.4%

  • JRI

    0.0400

    12.1

    +0.33%

  • GSK

    0.4600

    34.06

    +1.35%

  • CMSD

    -0.0100

    23.55

    -0.04%

  • BP

    0.1500

    28.75

    +0.52%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0200

    7.25

    -0.28%

  • AZN

    1.2800

    66.63

    +1.92%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    60.5

    0%

  • VOD

    -0.0200

    8.37

    -0.24%

  • RELX

    0.1200

    45.59

    +0.26%

French farmers step up protests against EU-Mercosur deal
French farmers step up protests against EU-Mercosur deal / Photo: ARNAUD FINISTRE - AFP

French farmers step up protests against EU-Mercosur deal

French farmers planned on Tuesday to step up their protests against a proposed trade pact between the European Union and four South American countries, saying it threatens their livelihoods.

Text size:

The French government is leading resistance against ratification of the trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay that would create the world's largest free-trade zone.

But protesters say French President Emmanuel Macron and the government should do more to help.

The new wave of action comes after farmers across Europe, including France, mounted rolling protests last winter over a long list of burdens they say are squeezing revenue.

On Tuesday morning, more than a hundred farmers set off from the southern town of Beziers towards the French-Spanish border near Perpignan, where they intend to block traffic for several days.

Travelling along the A9 motorway, around a hundred vehicles, including six tractors, passed through Narbonne, where they were joined by a dozen cars, an AFP correspondent saw.

In the southwest, around 30 tractors converged on the Bordeaux regional authority's headquarters, according to an AFP photographer.

The FNSEA farming union and Jeunes Agriculteurs ("Young Farmers"), which together represent most farmers in France, backed the protests.

Hardline farmers' union Coordination Rurale threatened to step up pressure later this week and start blocking food freight, if no progress is made.

On Monday, farmers staged more than 80 protests across the country, setting up mock gallows and wooden crosses to symbolise the death of French agriculture.

They also blocked the Bridge of Europe, which links France and Germany to protest against the European Commission's plan to conclude the Mercosur treaty following two decades of talks.

In Bordeaux, on the banks of the Garonne, several dozen farmers burned uprooted vines on Monday evening.

"It's a warning. We're rekindling the flame today, so be careful," 60-year-old winegrower Jerome Freville told AFP.

French farmers complain about excessive bureaucracy, low incomes and poor harvests.

They say they have been waiting for the authorities to deliver on the promises of support made by the government before Macron dissolved parliament's lower house in the summer, sparking a political crisis.

The proposed Mercosur pact has provoked fresh anger.

Farmers fear any agreement would open European Union markets to cheaper meat and produce from South American competitors, who are not forced to adhere to strict EU rules on pesticides, hormones, land use and environmental measures.

Macron said on Monday that France was not alone in opposing the accord.

"Contrary to what many people think, France is not isolated and several countries are joining us," Macron said in Brazil, where he was attending a G20 summit.

He said the agreement had been in the works for several decades and was "based on preconditions that are now obsolete".

(F.Schuster--BBZ)