French farmers have taken to the streets of Paris on Thursday morning to protest against the Mercosur trade deal and the French government’s handling of the lumpy skin disease outbreak in France.

Tractor convoys broke police cordons along the famous Champs Elysees before dawn this morning and gained access to some of the main throughfares in central Paris.

A number of tractors blocked the busy area around the French landmark, the Arc de Triomphe before gathering in the area in front of the National Assembly.

ADVERTISEMENT

There were reports of 150km tailbacks on the approach roads to Paris as a result of the protest and some unsavoury scenes at the assembly.

On Wednesday, French farming organisations called on their members to protest in Toulouse, one of the largest cities in southern France. Tractors blocked the approach roads during the day leading to traffic jams on the main approach roads to the city.

Fires were lit with bales of hay on some of the approach roads to block the roads. A number of blockades also took place outside the city of Lyon. Lumpy skin disease has been a particular issue in the south of France.

Former French Prime Minister Michel Barnier has rowed in against the deal.

In a statement posted on X, he said: “Mercosur threatens our agriculture. In November 2024, as prime minister, I had brought this treaty project before parliament. The result was unequivocal: the entire parliament, with the exception of La France Insoumise – which is decidedly always against the French – had opposed it. The government cannot ignore parliament's voice and must vote against this agreement”

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal from Paris, the president of the largest French farmers organisation FINESA said: “We are going to import products of a substandard from the Mercosur block of countries and that is unacceptable to us”

The French have remained resolute against the deal but there are fears in farming circles that French president Emmanuel Macron could do a U-turn closer to the vote and support the deal.

The unrest in Paris and across France is being watch closely by Brussels ahead of a planned vote on the Mercosur trade deal on Friday.

The French protests take place as over 10,000 farmers are expected to descend on Athlone on Saturday to attend an anti-Mercosur protest organised by Independent Ireland.

Hundreds of tractors and other vehicles are also expected to take part in the protest in the town from early Saturday morning culminating in a rally at Athlone IT sports centre at 1pm.

For more on the latest developments on Mercosur, follow www.farmersjournal.ie.

Read more about the Athlone protest here.

Read the latest on the Irish Mercosur vote here.