Pesticides, antibiotics, animal welfare… These differences in standards between the EU and Mercosur which irritate

France has always been cautious regarding the free trade treaty between the European Union and the Latin American countries of Mercosur, concluded in 2019. It is even a “firm opposition” since January 2024 and the movement of anger which had aroused the agricultural world. “We must refuse it”insisted Michel Barnier at the microphone of France Bleu this Friday. This massive and transpartisan rejection is largely explained by the gap in environmental and health standards between the European and South American markets. The European Union imposes much stricter production constraints than in South America and those who resist therefore fear unfair competition for farmers. They are mobilizing in France in the coming days, at the call of the unions.