The announcement is strong. On his Twitter account, the CEO of Carrefour, Alexandre Bompard, published a press release this Wednesday in which he pledged that his brand would not sell meat from one of the Mercosur countries, if the agreement had just been finalized.
“Everywhere in France, we hear the dismay and anger of farmers in the face of the proposed free trade agreement” between the EU and the countries of South America, explained the boss of Carrefour stores to justify his decision. He hopes, therefore, to be followed by other “players in the agri-food sector”, beyond “just the distribution sector, (…) already at the forefront of the fight in favor of the meat origin of France”, he wished.
According to Alexandre Bompard, we must “stand together” to reassure French breeders. A call which concerns restaurateurs in particular.
Among the demands of farmers, who relaunched their mobilization less than a year after a historic rebellion, the signing of Mercosur is in a good position. In their eyes, this text would lead to unfair competition, with a surge of Argentinian or Brazilian meat not subject to the strict health and environmental standards of the European Union.
The French political class, with rare unanimity, supports this opposition, and Emmanuel Macron has constantly insisted, throughout his tour in Latin America, that he refuses the agreement “as is”. He also thinks he has found an ally on this subject in the person of Javier Milei. But the European Commission, pushed by countries like Germany and Spain, still seems determined to sign the free trade agreement before the end of the year.
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