French farmers protest outside Macron’s over EU-Mercosur deal

French farmers staged an early-morning protest on Friday outside President Emmanuel Macron’s residence in the seaside town of Le Touquet, despite a delay in the signing of the controversial EU-Mercosur trade agreement.

At the call of the main farming union FNSEA and the Young Farmers group, around fifty farmers gathered on the seafront from as early as 5:30 a.m., with about thirty tractors lining the promenade. Police were deployed to monitor the demonstration, though no incidents were reported.

The protest follows large-scale demonstrations in Brussels a day earlier, where thousands of farmers rallied against the proposed free-trade deal between the European Union and South American Mercosur countries. While the European Commission has postponed the signing until January, French agricultural unions say the delay does not go far enough.

Farmers fear increased competition from imported agricultural products that do not meet European standards, at a time when they are already facing pressure from reduced EU farm subsidies and new environmental measures, including carbon border adjustments.

Speaking on behalf of farmers in northern France, Benoît Thilliez of the FDSEA Hauts-de-France said the agreement should be scrapped altogether.

“Yesterday, more than 10,000 of our colleagues demonstrated in Brussels. They obtained a one-month reprieve for Mercosur, but what we want is for it to be abandoned completely,” he said. “In today’s geopolitical context, this agreement no longer has any reason to exist.”

The mayor of Le Touquet has publicly voiced support for the farmers, as pressure mounts on the French government to take a tougher stance on the deal.