Farmers block highway near French-Spanish border

French farmers blocked a highway near the French-Spanish border in a third day of protests across the country against the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.

The blockade was set up on Tuesday at the Boulou toll gate. Its aim is to block heavy goods vehicle traffic from Spain to France “over the long term”.

French authorities have, in collaboration with their Spanish counterparts, set up detours “to limit disruption”.

The farmers’ largest trade union, Coordination Rurale, is leading the protests. The French Minister of Agriculture, however, condemned their methods, saying the action was “unacceptable”, and risked undermining the French public’s “empathy” for the profession.

“Attacking property, attacking people, blocking the country for a long time, that’s not acceptable. And I say this to the members of the Coordination Rurale who, in six departments of France last night, engaged in acts of degradation, blocking the Spanish border,” Annie Genevard said.

The EU-Mercosur agreement aims to boost trade between the EU and South American economies by gradually removing trade barriers and customs duties, and standardising regulations.

However, French farmers argue that the deal would create unfair competition with large South American farms, which have much lower production costs and face fewer regulations. Proponents of the agreement, on the other hand, believe it would strengthen economic ties between Europe and South America.

They are therefore calling for the introduction of “mirror clauses”, which would impose the same environmental and health standards on imports as those applied in France in order to safeguard the industry.