French farmers block roads near Paris over South American trade plans
French agricultural workers show strong disagreement with EU-Mercosur trading proposals. Local food producers point out unfair competition from South American imports and pesticide-related issues
French countryside workers took to the streets this tuesday (using their farm equipment to slow-down traffic) near Paris because they dont like new trading rules with South America. The deal which has been in talks since about 5 years ago would let more food products come from countries like Brazil‚ Argentina‚ Paraguay‚ Uruguay and Bolivia
The trade agreement between EU and these South-American nations – known as Mercosur bloc; has been stuck since its first version due to many issues. Local farmers say its not fair to let these imports in because they use different rules for growing food (especially when it comes to chemicals they put on plants)
Many EU countries leaders have also shown doubt about this deal: French food makers drove their tractors to make their point clear. They think the agreement would hurt their work and local food production - making it hard to compete with cheaper products from across the ocean
