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Farmer anger in France and other European countries has
escalated over a rash of challenges recently. The unions leading
Tuesday’s protests said they are demanding ″concrete and
immediate action″ to defend France’s food security.
French farmers say their earnings are being squeezed by rising
costs for fuel, fertilizer and animal feed, as well as by what
they describe as heavier environmental rules and price pressure
from powerful retailers and food companies.
And like farmers across the European Union, the French farmers
have long denounced the EU's planned trade deal with the
Mercosur nations of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and
Uruguay.
They argue the deal would flood the market with cheaper imports
of South American beef, poultry, sugar and other farm products
produced under different standards, undercutting European
producers and driving prices down further.
French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said on TF1
television Tuesday that the government would make new
announcements soon to help farmers.
President Emmanuel Macron and his government also oppose the EU-Mercosur
trade deal, which has been under negotiation since 1999.
But European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is
expected to sign the deal in Paraguay on Saturday, after a
qualified majority of EU member states backed it last week.
Then it goes to the European Parliament, which starts a
months-long approval process next week. Many of the 720 European
parliament members support the deal, but the final vote may be
close and the legislature could eventually reject the deal.
___
Associated Press journalist Sylvain Plazy in Brussels
contributed.
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