The FNSEA, the Young Farmers, the Peasant Confederation and the Rural Coordination agree on their opposition to this treaty. However, unions do not always share the same vision of agriculture.
In front of prefectures or purchasing centers, farmers have been demonstrating in scattered order since mid-November. All, however, have the same slogan, hung on the front of their tractors: “No to Mercosur”. The four main French agricultural unions unanimously reject the project and intend to put pressure on the government to break an improbable blockage in negotiations on this free trade agreement between the European Union and five South American countries.
But behind this union unanimity hide visions that are sometimes very different from the French agricultural model. To understand the reasons for the anger and better identify the differences of opinion, franceinfo gave the floor to four farmers from Dordogne, representing the National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA), the Peasant Confederation, the Young Farmers (JA) and Rural Coordination (CR).
Nicolas Lagarde, cattle breeder (FNSEA): “We are going to import without any of the rules imposed on us”
“A resounding ‘no’.” When Nicolas Lagarde is asked for his opinion on the proposed free trade agreement with Mercosur, his response is overwhelming. With his hundred red label beef cattle, the Périgord breeder is worried about the 90,000 tonnes of cattle from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia which could enter the European Union with reduced taxes. “This will make it possible to import production without any traceability and without any of the rules imposed on us here”he says indignantly, wrapped up in his green parka.
“Over there, there are farms of 10,000 animals on a few hectares, while here, we work on animal welfare.”
Nicolas Lagarde, cattle breeder and member of the FNSEAat franceinfo
The breeder also has these French health and environmental standards in his sights. “Now we are being fined if we do not respect the dates for trimming our hedges”he quotes, disillusioned, at the foot of his tractor. Isn't his speech, calling on the one hand for compliance with European standards for imports and, on the other, for their dismantling in France, contradictory? The breeder brushes aside the question: “We have some room before falling to the level of Mercosur…”
The head of the beef sector of the Departmental Federation of Farmers' Unions in Dordogne is particularly angry with Emmanuel Macron. “We have no confidence in his words”he warns, while the President of the Republic said he was opposed, “as is”to the agreement with Mercosur. “We listened to it at the Agricultural Show and we got nothing”recalls the trade unionist.
François Soulard, sheep breeder (Peasant Confederation): “We want a change in the global model”
While farmers from Dordogne demonstrate near the prefecture at the call of the FNSEA, Young Farmers or Rural Coordination, François Soulard remains among his sheep. His sheepfold is attached to his house. It only takes one step to go from haystacks to the sofa – even if you change your shoes. This proximity well represents the model advocated by this spokesperson for the Peasant Confederation. “We defend producing locally, what we need locally. We don’t want global specialization, with soya in Brazil or lentils in Canada”explains the forty-year-old.
The proposed free trade agreement with Mercosur symbolizes the opposite. “It’s a catastrophe. There has never been a single free trade agreement that has benefited farmers”says the breeder. Beyond the precise quotas and specific clauses provided for in the agreement, it denounces an entire liberal system. “We want a change in global model”insists François Soulard, who believes that only the Peasant Confederation, classified on the left, really defends it.
“I don’t believe in the FNSEA’s opposition to this free trade agreement. It’s a marketing operation.”
François Soulard, breeder and member of the Confédération paysanneat franceinfo
Unlike the other farmers interviewed, François Soulard also does not wish to reduce the standards, particularly environmental ones, which govern agricultural practices. “That's not the problem. Electricians also have standards, but they don't have an income problem”tackles the breeder, sitting next to a stack of letters. He assumes this difference: “All farmers have the same problems, but we don’t have the same answers.”
Geoffrey Couloumy, cereal grower and wine grower (Young Farmers): “We cannot open all the doors”
Geoffrey Couloumy, 29, had never demonstrated before the major mobilization started at the end of 2023. “Last year, it was complicated. This year, it’s catastrophic,” says the farmer. So, when it was necessary to mobilize again against the agreement with Mercosur, he did not hesitate. “We cannot open all the doors”he says, cap turned back on his head.
His small family farm, recently taken over with his big brother, is not enough to support the two men. “We each have to do part-time elsewhere to get by.” This year, the frost damaged his vines, already weakened by disease. “The authorities even came to check on us even though we hadn’t been able to produce anything”he complains.
“On cereals, we already depend on world prices, but with taxes and controls that others do not have.”
Geoffrey Couloumy, cereal grower and wine grower, member of the Young Farmersat franceinfo
In this context, the draft agreement with Mercosur is “a big threat” moreover, according to the farmer, for whom “It will put young people in even more difficulty.” Rather than signing free trade treaties, Geoffrey Couloumy pleads to protect local activity. “We don't need to look for their production in South America, assure-t-il, orn is capable of feeding the French!”
Justin Losson, breeder and farmer (Rural Coordination): “A grain of sand in an ocean of difficulties”
With his hat and yellow sweatshirt, Justin Losson does not go unnoticed in front of the Périgueux prefecture. Its union, Rural Coordination, decided to make the voice of farmers heard once again with its muscular method: manure and tires were dumped in front of these state representatives. “We have to turn the table”says the 34-year-old cattle breeder and grain farmer.
He hammers home his priority: “We simply want to make a living from our profession.” For that, Justin Losson “doesn’t want help”more “prices and a decent income”. The proposed agreement with Mercosur seems far removed from its daily concerns. “It’s a grain of sand in an ocean of difficulties”he says, before citing other free trade treaties, with New Zealand in particular, and competition from Ukrainian products. A yellow and blue flag is also hung at the prefecture. “We have to tear it out”comments another farmer next to him.
“The state must protect our agriculture and stop signing free trade treaties.”
Justin Losson, farmer at Rural Coordinationat franceinfo
Faced with the constraints and difficulties encountered with his father and his brother on his mixed farming operation, Justin Losson calls above all for new concrete measures. “What was announced at the start of the year allowed us to keep our heads above water, he recognizes, but only for a while.
