Farmers bring out the tractors this Tuesday while the Mercosur treaty comes up for debate in the National Assembly. In the afternoon, the Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard will, with her counterpart delegate for Foreign Trade, Sophie Primas, take the government’s word to the Chamber where a debate and then a vote on this treaty will be held. The government is hoping for a unanimous vote which would give weight to the French position vis-à-vis the European Commission, the only one authorized to negotiate this free trade treaty for the 27.
But nothing is won in advance. If MP Dominique Potier (PS) hopes for a certain unity against the agreement, he specifies that the vote of the socialist group will depend on the government’s declaration: “we will judge as it stands. » For Arnaud Le Gall, who will present the position of rebellious France, only a government proposal which would “end the negotiations” would, however, obtain a favorable vote from LFI. Opposing the agreement “as is” will not be enough.
On the side of the National Rally, MP Hélène Laporte was surprised by a new vote, recalling that the Assembly had already voted against it in June 2023 with the adoption of a resolution. “We are going to remain linear, we are against this agreement,” she told AFP
“Outside”, the tractors will be there to put pressure on them. deputies. At the call of the FNSEA in particular, farmers intend to increase their actions on Tuesday. With the theme this time, “impediments” and “norms”.
Actions against prefectures and the European Parliament
“We started with a mobilization against Mercosur, while the G20 was being held in Brazil. We are entering a second phase, against obstacles to the profession of farmer, before a phase which will be more devoted to the question of income”, indicated to AFP the president of the FNSEA Arnaud Rousseau, planning actions targeting in particular prefectures, water agencies or offices of the French Biodiversity Office (OFB).
Against “unfair competition”, the demonstrators will notably defend the return of acetamiprid, an insecticide from the neonicotinoid family, demanded by hazelnut and sugar beet producers. Harmful to pollinators, it is banned in France but used in other countries of the European Union.
For its part, Rural Coordination, the 2nd agricultural union, plans to “amplify” its mobilization beyond the South-West where its actions have so far been concentrated – filter dams in the South-West, blockade of the port of Bordeaux , ransacking of an OFB office in Creuse.
On Tuesday, the union is planning a rally in front of the European Parliament. A procession of 25 tractors left Vesoul (Haute-Saône) on Monday shortly after 6 p.m. to reach Strasbourg.
Source: www.20minutes.fr
