If the agreement with Mercosur is signed it will be a terrible disavowal for Paris

On olivier pirot

Unsurprisingly, the declaration, the debate and then the vote in the National Assembly led the deputies to a massive rejection of the free trade agreement that the European Union has been negotiating with Mercosur for 25 years.

By mid-November, more than 600 parliamentarians had already expressed their opposition. The four agricultural unions, of all persuasions, are also up in arms.

“Against” is also the official line of France. Emmanuel Macron, the former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, the current Michel Barnier have said again and again that this agreement is not acceptable “as it stands”. It is this last nuance which leaves farmers thinking that – even with adjustments – once their foot is in the door, ultra-competitive products, escaping (also through faulty controls) the same standards as in Europe, will invade the Old Continent.

But the negotiations do not only concern agriculture. And while certain markets are closing around the world, certain European powers have an express need to export their high value-added goods.

If France fails to form a blocking minority at European level, the agreement could still be concluded. And this despite all the pro-European speeches of Emmanuel Macron, the past in the European authorities of Michel Barnier and the central place of France in European construction.

This would be a terrible disavowal and the mark of a major loss of influence for Paris. And obviously good luck for Eurosceptics and opponents of the European Union.