STORY: French farmers stage protests over EU-Mercosur trade deal
SHOOTING TIME: Nov. 18, 2024
DATELINE: Nov. 20, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:29
LOCATION: Paris
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of preparations of tractors before the start of the event
2. of tractor demonstration in downtown Roanne
4. SOUNDBITE (French): RAOUL JUNET, Deputy general secretary of the agricultural union FDSEA 42

STORYLINE:

Farmers across France took to the streets on Monday to protest the trade agreement that the European Union (EU) plans to sign by end-of-year with South American trade bloc Mercosur.

France's largest farmer union, the National Federation of Agricultural Holders' Unions (FNSEA), announced Monday evening that 85 demonstrations have been organized across the country.

The demonstrations will not block motorways and are not intended to annoy the public, but are aimed at reminding people of the urgent situation facing the French agricultural sector, FNSEA said.

The EU and Mercosur states - Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay - reached a comprehensive trade agreement in 2019.

Speaking Monday evening to French public television channel France 5, FNSEA president Arnaud Rousseau called the EU-Mercosur trade deal "unfavorable" and urged European farmers to be on the front line against the deal.

In January, thousands of farmers in the country blockaded major cities and protested against low income, red tape, and "unfair competition" from other countries.

SOUNDBITE (French): RAOUL JUNET, Deputy general secretary of the agricultural union FDSEA 42
"We already had actions last winter because we were fed up with the number of standards that we are being asked to comply with. Today, they want to stab us in the back. No to Mercosur. We have not forgotten our demands from this winter, but the main message is that we do not want Mercosur."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Paris.
(XHTV)