French farmers rally across country to protest EU-Mercosur trade deal

Farmers across France are on the road again, protesting the EU-Mercosur agreement and arguing that the deal would create unfair competition.

Transcript

00:00French farmers mobilized across the country to protest against the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.

00:08It is a deal that would increase South American agricultural import, which the European Commission

00:13hopes to sign before the end of the year.

00:16Two hundred tractors blocked a key traffic artery to Paris, with around 15 spending the

00:21night on the main road.

00:23In other places, farmers dumped soil on the ground and placed crosses on top of them,

00:28symbolizing the death of French agriculture.

00:47The farmers have already protested against the agreement in the past, and say it would

00:51threaten their livelihoods as the deal would gradually remove trade barriers, custom duties

00:56and standardized regulations.

01:00French President Emmanuel Macron has criticized the agreement, insisting that South American

01:05producers must meet EU standards.

01:09But France's hands might be tied, and many fear a partial agreement could be reached

01:14in the next few weeks, given the country does not hold veto power.