France considers the treaty with Mercosur dead while farmers continue their protest

France, in the midst of a wave of agricultural protests, has declared dead and buried the EU's free trade agreement with Mercosur, the common market of several Latin American countries.

Many French farmers, who already consider themselves harmed by globalization and competition from other countries, see the treaty as an existential threat.

While tractors block dozens of highways with this and other demands, the president, Emmanuel Macron, has asked the European Commission to end the negotiations.

There is a double front for Paris: Europe and France.

In his first general policy speech before the National Assembly, the new prime minister, Gabriel Attal, announced this Tuesday that, among other measures to benefit the sector, one of the priorities in the European Union was to discuss the agreement with Mercosur.

Macron's intention is to bring the issue, along with other demands of French farmers, to the European Council this Thursday in Brussels.

Attal's words and Macron's promises did not calm the protest.

There are about 50 blocking points throughout the country, according to the count of the BFMTV network.

They are less than last week, but the agricultural unions hope to obtain more concessions from the Government if they maintain them.

Attention is focused on Paris, which the main union, FNSEA, has proposed to “siege” by cutting off the main access roads.

A convoy from a minority union, and considered close to Marine Le Pen's National Rally, intended to reach Rungis, the largest wholesale market in Europe.

It is not overly difficult for motorists to avoid road blocks to enter and leave the capital.

The Ministry of the Interior has deployed 15,000 police and gendarmes throughout the territory, and has sent armored vehicles to protect Rungis, essential for supplying the capital.

The French Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, during his speech at the National Assembly, in Paris, on January 30.

SARAH MEYSSONNIER (REUTERS)

Attal is facing his first crisis since Macron appointed him on January 9 and is multiplying measures to appease the peasants.

On Friday, during a visit to a farm, he announced the elimination of the increase in the tax on tractor fuel.

Before the National Assembly, this Tuesday, he said that payments and aid to the countryside in sectors such as livestock or viticulture will be expedited.

“Our agriculture is a strength,” he declared before the chamber, “not simply because it feeds us in the proper sense of the term, but because it constitutes one of the foundations of our identity and our traditions.”

“So, and I say it here solemnly, there is and must be a French agricultural exception,” he added.

The idea of ​​the agricultural exception is reminiscent of the cultural exception: the idea that French products need special protection because they are closely linked to the country's identity and the rights of its citizens.

Popular support for the agricultural movement is close to 90%, according to polls.

Nobody wants to criticize them.

The Government, which in the face of other protests has shown greater intransigence and even a heavy hand, is listening to the main unions and has avoided repressing the blockades and condemning them.

One of the demands is to end what some farmers call “unfair competition” from EU neighbors such as Italy and Spain.

Farmers in these countries are supposedly subject to less strict rules than the French ones and thus obtain a competitive advantage over the French.

“I want us to see what additional measures we can take on this story of unfair competition,” Attal responded to a farmer on Sunday during a visit to a cattle farm.

“It is not normal that you are prevented from using certain products, and that neighboring countries, Italy and others use them and [their products] arrive here.”

The Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, replied on Monday: “The production and marketing standards in the EU are similar in all member countries and everyone, from Germany to Spain, Portugal, Holland or Italy, applies them the same.”

And he added: “Therefore, there is no competitive advantage derived from the application of different standards.”

After Attal's speech, the next step to deactivate the blockades must be the European Council in Brussels.

Some claims of French agriculture – the first in Europe and the one that receives the most funds – are not decided at national level, but at the EU level.

The prime minister cited three points that harm the French countryside, according to the sector, and that the States resolve in Brussels: the rule that requires 4% of the fields to be fallow;

Ukrainian chicken imports, and the agreement with Mercosur.

Macron's opposition to the free trade agreement is not new, but with the protests he believes he has had his reasons.

According to a source from the Elysee Palace who requested anonymity, “[the president] has reiterated with the utmost firmness to the Commission that it was impossible to conclude [the treaty with Mercosur] under these conditions.”

The source added that the European Commission, in charge of negotiating on behalf of the bloc, “has understood that in this context it was impossible to reach a conclusion.”

Discussions with Mercosur continue, European Commission spokesperson Éric Mamer said at a press conference in Brussels on Tuesday.

The objective remains an agreement that is respectful of the environment and “the sensitivities” of European agriculture.

But Mamer added: “Right now, the Commission's analysis is that the conditions are not met to conclude negotiations with Mercosur.”

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