Overview
- Protesters plan to gather outside CNES in Toulouse during Emmanuel Macron’s visit to inaugurate Space Command buildings, with organizers expecting about 50 tractors and 200–300 farmers from 13 departments.
- FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs lead the mobilization to press for rejection or a rewrite of the trade pact unless enforceable protections for French agriculture are provided.
- Macron said in Brazil he was “rather positive” about the EU–Mercosur agreement, then from Mexico pledged vigilance, asked the European Commission for clear answers, and cited a robust agricultural safeguard clause.
- Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard judged the assurances inadequate, as union leaders labeled the shift a “renunciation” and other groups condemned the deal as a betrayal.
- Separately, members of the European Parliament initiated a legal challenge at the EU Court of Justice, with Le Figaro reporting that a majority of EU states appears poised to back the accord before Christmas.