France warns Brussels against approving Mercosur trade deal

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday warned Brussels against finalizing a free-trade deal with several South American countries over the objections of the French government and farmers.

“If the European authorities are minded to force it through, France would oppose it very strongly,” Macron said at a Cabinet meeting in Paris, according to government spokeswoman Maud Brégeon.

The government had made it clear on the weekend that it did not want the EU states to vote soon on the agreement with the Mercosur countries, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Paris argued that the conditions for a deal have not been met.

Improvements that had been made to the text were incomplete and would have to be made more concrete and then implemented, the government said.

Meanwhile, farmers’ protests are spreading against the Mercosur agreement, as well as in protest at the authorities’ handling of an epidemic among cattle.

In the south-west of the country, farmers blocked further sections of motorway, according to the operator Vinci Autoroutes. The motorways affected include those between southern France and Spain.

Farmers drove onto the motorways in tractor convoys, piled up pallets and tyres and set them on fire.

The farmers are partly protesting against the fact that entire herds of animals are being killed following increased outbreaks of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in cattle.

Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard announced that the vaccination of cattle against the disease would be accelerated in the coming days.

With a herd of around 19 million animals, France is the largest beef producer in Europe.

The farmers’ protests are also directed against Mercosur, calling for a delay to address what they see as unfair competition for domestic farmers.

“If the Mercosur agreement were to be signed at the end of the week, this would naturally lead to much stronger protests,” said the president of the umbrella organization of French agricultural associations (FNSEA), Arnaud Rousseau, to broadcaster France Inter.