Mercosur agreement, farmers invade Paris with 350 tractors
The approval of the Mercosur agreement by most EU member states on 9 January, despite France's opposition, has intensified the pressure on the government from farmers and opposition parties, some of whom have filed motions of no-confidence
Tractor invasion in Paris: farmers, at war with the Mercosur treaty that the EU is about to sign, entered the French capital again this morning, this time with as many as 350 vehicles driving along the quai on the Seine. They demand 'concrete and immediate actions' from the government a few days before the signing of the agreement on Saturday in Paraguay. The protest is being organised today by the leading agricultural union, the FNSEA, and its allies the Young Farmers.
The long, uninterrupted line lined the river in the capital, passing right under the Assemblée Nationale. At that moment, a banner was unfurled reading 'The agricultural revolt resumes'. Protests also continued in the south-west, in the Toulouse region in particular, with a roadblock on a motorway that forced the police to intervene to restore traffic.
Loading...
'The Mercosur agreement has been approved even though the European Parliament has not yet given its opinion. This will lead to the import of foreign products that we are perfectly capable of producing in France and that do not meet the standards imposed on French agriculture,' said Damien Greffin, vice-president of the FNSEA and a farmer from the Paris region.
Greffin announced that the farmers would also protest with a demonstration in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg scheduled for 20 January.
Pressing on the Paris government
Brand connect
Loading...
