Overview
- After a meeting in Toulouse, the agriculture minister said Macron delivered a "very firm no" to the EU–Mercosur agreement in its present form.
- Paris is demanding enforceable safeguards including an agricultural safeguard clause, so‑called mirror measures aligning standards, and tighter border checks.
- Hundreds of farmers and dozens of tractors rallied in Toulouse, securing the talks at ENAC as unions warned they would mobilize again without concrete protections.
- To ease tensions, the government announced short‑term support such as a cash‑flow fund for fragile farms and special status for Occitanie to pilot local measures, with some leaders also citing relief on fertilizer import taxes.
- The deal still faces an EU timetable with a Council vote set for 19 December, while roughly 150 MEPs plan to seek a European Court of Justice review that supporters say would pause Parliament’s ratification for around six months.