"French farmers rolled into Paris on tractors on Thursday morning in a show of dissent against an EU trade deal they fear will create unfair competition. Dozens of tractors arrived before dawn and cruised through Paris, with some reaching the Eiffel Tower and others at the Arc de Triomphe, in a protest organised by farming unions. "We said we'd come up to Paris - here we are," said Ludovic Ducloux, co-head of one of the Coordination Rurale union's chapters."
"The EU-Mercosur deal would create the world's biggest free-trade area and help the 27-nation bloc to export more vehicles, machinery, wines and spirits to Latin America. But farmers fear being undercut by a flow of cheaper goods from agricultural giant Brazil and its neighbours. Union president Bertrand Venteau told AFP that the farmers intended to peacefully demonstrate at symbolic Parisian sites, even if it meant they ended up in police custody."
French farmers mobilised dozens of tractors into Paris before dawn to protest the EU-Mercosur trade pact and a government decision to cull cows due to nodular dermatitis. Tractors cruised to landmarks including the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, with several major routes blocked and a felled tree used to obstruct a road near Porte d'Auteuil. Farmers planned demonstrations at symbolic Parisian sites and in front of the French parliament. Separate actions included blocking access to a fuel depot near Bordeaux and ongoing protests on the A64 motorway. Earlier tactics included road blockages, manure spraying and garbage dumping.
Read at The Local France
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