Mercosur deal: French farmers roll tractors into Paris

Farmers in France blocked roads into Paris on Thursday as they protested against the Mercosur trade deal the European Union hopes to ink with South American countries.

Scores of tractors were driven into the capital before dawn with a number managing to get through to the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.

The farmers managed to overrun checkpoints and entered the city while being swarmed by police.

The French government said it would "not stand by" and allow "illegal" actions.

Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told France Info Radio that blocking a motorway or "attempting to gather in front of the National Assembly with all the symbolism that this entails is once again illegal," adding the government "will not allow it."

The protest — largely-led by the Coordination Rurale union — takes place amid fears that the planned free trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc could flood European markets with cheaper imports.

"We are between resentment and despair. We have a feeling of abandonment, with Mercosur being an example," Stephane Pelletier — a senior member of the Coordination Rurale union — told the Reuters news agency beneath the Eiffel Tower.

"We said we'd come up to Paris — here we are," said Ludovic Ducloux, co-head of one of the union's chapters.

One of them bore the message "No To Mercosur", referring to the deal with four South American nations.

Aside from the trade deal, farmers are also upset over a government decision to cull cows in response to the spread of nodular dermatitis — a bovine sickness widely known as lumpy skin disease.

The free trade deal aims to bolster trade between the South American and European economic blocs, but is viewed critically by a number of EU member states.

Those backing the agreement include Germany, Spain and Nordic countries who argue that it increases exports suffering under US tariffs and reduce reliance on Beijing.

However, critics including France, Italy and Poland are wary of an influx of cheap commodities and its impact on European farmers.

Farmers in Belgium staged mass protests against the trade deal in December when they rolled hundreds of tractors into Brussels.

EU member states are expected to vote on the trade accord on Friday, with the deal piling pressure on President Emmanuel Macron and his centrist Ensemble coalition, which does not hold a majority in parliament.

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