President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will vote against the European Union’s trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur, a day before member states were scheduled to cast ballots on final approval.
“France will vote against signing the agreement,” he said on Thursday on X, calling it a deal “from another era” after French farmers earlier in the day rolled into Paris on their tractors to protest against it.
More than 25 years in the making, the accord would create one of the world’s biggest free-trade areas and help the 27-nation European Union export more vehicles, machinery, wines and spirits to Latin America.
But French farmers fear being undercut by a flow of cheaper goods from agricultural giant Brazil and its neighbours.
Plans to seal the deal at a gathering in Brazil last month ran into a late roadblock as heavyweights Italy and France demanded a postponement over concerns for the farming sector.
The European Union on Tuesday offered a carrot to farmers, promising to unlock funds for the sector as it seeks to get the accord over the line.
Macron said the European Commission should be credited for “undeniable progress” after France’s demands for what he called “a fairer agreement to protect our farmers”.