Almost a year after the general mobilization of farmers in France, the FDSEA and the Young Farmers of Isère are calling for a new gathering on Monday, November 18. One of the objectives: to prevent the signing of the Mercosur free trade agreement.
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“Treasuries are dry, humans are exhausted”it is with these words that Jordan Desimone, co-president of the Young Farmers of Isère, describes the state of French agriculture. Accompanied by the FDSEA, the union is calling for a day of mobilization on Monday November 18, 2024.
A date far from being chosen at random, as the G20 summit will be held on November 18 and 19, 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Meeting where the decision to sign the Mercosur free trade agreement should be ardently discussed. A potential agreement which is far from suitable for France, but which could nevertheless be voted on.
This signature would allow the creation of a commercial and political association agreement with several South American countries (Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina and Uruguay) and the EU. Thus, exports of industrial products, such as cars, should be facilitated in exchange for the opening of the European agricultural market to these countries.
An agreement strongly criticized by French farmers: “In France, we try to make quality products, and with Mercosur they will bring us animals that are not raised at all like ours. They are entitled to lots of products, antibiotics”explains Cedric Ruzzin, representative of the FDSEA of Isère.
I don't understand how we can bring these products into French territory, when we are prohibited from producing in this way.
Cédric RuzzinFDSEA Isère Representative
But it is also the overall situation in agriculture that the unions deplore. A year after blocking the country for ten days, the situation does not seem to have changed much: “We thought the politicians had heard us, but apparently they are a bit deaf”critic Cédric Ruzzin.
Their demands are clear: “That all the files that we had requested be reopened. Everything stopped with the dissolution and it is not viable”proclaims Jordan Desimone. If the situation does not change, the farmer fears the worst: “If we don't wake up to agriculture, it will stop. Many farms have little left to lose. It's a final cry of distress”he says.
This regional mobilization then echoes a national demand from the FNSEA, the majority farmers' union, which also calls for a large-scale gathering from November 18.
