US EditionFrench Farmers Drive Tractors into Paris to Protest EU-Mercosur Deal
Around 350 tractors blocked major Paris avenues to oppose an EU-South America trade pact that threatens local farmers with an extra 99,000 tonnes of cheap beef imports.
- On January 13, 2026, French farmers drove hundreds of tractors into Paris to protest the EU-Mercosur deal, with Paris police estimating around 350 tractors converging on central avenues.
- Damien Greffin, vice‑president of the FNSEA, said protests are driven by fears that an extra 99,000 tonnes of beef from Brazil and Mercosur will undercut EU farmers, amid cattle culls for Lumpy Skin Disease.
- Tractors crawled down the Champs-Élysées and other central avenues, prompting road closures, while one convoy reached the Arc de Triomphe and another the National Assembly; by 7am about 150 tractors had entered Paris escorted by police.
- The deal is due to be signed on Saturday even as France opposes it, heightening domestic tensions; Maud Bregeon, French government spokesperson, said new measures to help farmers will be announced soon.
- The Mercosur deal would create a free-trade area covering more than 700 million people, reshaping trade as farmers in France and Ireland protest fears of market influx.
91 Articles
91 Articles
The Killeen Daily Herald
Fuming French farmers camp out in Paris despite government pledges
French farmers said Tuesday they and their tractors would be spending the night in Paris, even after Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu promised an "emergency bill" to help alleviate their woes including the EU-Mercosur trade deal.
A long procession of tractors stationed in Paris with the green light of the authorities. The FNSEA - the first agricultural union - and its ally of the Young Farmers organized a mobilization, this Tuesday, to alert about the crisis of the profession, revived by the signature of Mercosur. At the end of the day, Sébastien Lecornu made new promises but their implementation will depend on his lease in Matignon.
On Saturday Ursula von der Leyen in Paraguay wants to sign the free trade agreement. In France and other countries farmers fear disadvantages, drive their anger with tractors on the streets and design gloomy scenarios.
France: Farmers stage new protests against EU-MERCOSUR deal
Farmworkers began gathering on the outskirts of this capital since early Tuesday, convened by the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions (FNSEA), the largest union organization, and the Young Farmers, although other organizations joined the mobilization. At the heart of their demands are the EU-MERCOSUR deal, which they consider a promoter of unfair competition, and the existence of regulations and procedures that hinder the work of the sector. …
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