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00:00It's 10.30pm here in Paris in time to take a closer look at one of our main stories this evening.
00:16Welcome to Apropos.
00:18European agriculture is on live support.
00:21So say farmers here in France, who have begun a fresh campaign in protest against a proposed trade pact
00:27between the European Union and four South American countries.
00:31They say the Mercosur agreement will open European markets to cheaper meat and produce
00:36from overseas competitors who are not forced to adhere to strict EU rules
00:41on pesticides, hormones, land use and environmental measures.
00:45Emerald Maxwell has more.
00:50At this roundabout in southern France, farmers spill rocks, soil and manure onto the road
00:57and plant crosses in it.
01:01A symbolic death as negotiations continue between the EU and the Mercosur bloc of South
01:07American countries over a trade agreement that farmers say would threaten their livelihoods.
01:12French farmers protested across the country on Monday, starting pre-dawn in the western
01:17department of Vendée.
01:19They fear any agreement would open European markets to cheaper produce that is not forced
01:23to adhere to strict rules on pesticides, hormones, land use and environmental measures.
01:29We have a healthy diet here in France.
01:31Now they want to import junk food from Brazil in exchange for German cars and manufacturing.
01:38For French farmers, the deal represents the bitter cherry on top of a list of grievances,
01:43including excessive bureaucracy, low incomes and poor harvests.
01:48Protesting farmers near Paris said they now want President Emmanuel Macron and the government
01:52to do more to stop the proposed deal.
01:54Macron is going to Brazil for discussions.
01:58We want to send a message, don't forget your farmers.
02:03On Sunday, the French president defended France's resistance to the deal and said the country
02:08would continue to oppose it ahead of a G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
02:13But despite being the EU's biggest agricultural producer, France does not hold veto power
02:18and lacks firm allies in the Mercosur talks.
02:22Meanwhile, the German and Spanish governments have been pushing to finalise the agreement
02:25by the end of the year.
02:28If the agreement is signed, the treaty will still need to be formally ratified by the
02:32EU before coming into force.
02:35With more on the proposed deal, here's Andrew Hilliard.
02:41French farmers are virtually unanimous in opposing the Mercosur trade deal.
02:44Both the EU and Mercosur reached an initial agreement back in 2019, but it was never finalised
02:50after opposition from farmers and some European governments.
02:54The free trade deal aims to boost commerce between the European Union and the five countries
02:58that make up Mercosur, namely Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia.
03:04It would gradually eliminate customs duties on trade between the two blocs.
03:09The EU exported 45 billion euros worth of goods to Mercosur in 2021.
03:14French government officials say it would allow the import of an additional 99,000 tonnes
03:19of beef and 180,000 tonnes of poultry.
03:22But French farmers say South American exporters would have an unfair competitive edge.
03:27Farms are bigger and producers are less bound by strict environmental and health regulations
03:32than their EU counterparts.
03:34Wages are also lower than in Europe and that could force prices down for European farmers.
03:38In the end, it's like unfair competition.
03:43Our products are very standardised, very controlled, very closely monitored and products from all
03:48around the world can arrive with completely different standards of production.
03:53The French government, racing to extinguish a growing protest movement, also opposes the
03:57deal.
03:58It's urged other EU countries to refrain from signing it.
04:01Analysts say it could accelerate deforestation in the Amazon rainforest by up to 5% per year.
04:07The deal has united politicians, farmers and environmentalists in a rare common front opposed
04:12to its ratification.
04:16To discuss, let's bring in Jean-Matthieu Thévenot.
04:19He's a farmer and also a member of the Confédération Paysanne Agricultural Trade Union.
04:25Thank you so much for being with us on the programme this evening.
04:29We heard some of the concerns that farmers have generally when it comes to the Mercosur
04:34deal.
04:35What are your specific concerns about this trade deal?
04:40Well, first I would like to remind that we are part of an international farmer's network,
04:45La Via Campesina, and we've been fighting against free trade agreements for a very long
04:50time, actually created in 1993.
04:54So it's not only about the EU-Mercosur agreement, it's about any free trade agreement, because
04:59these agreements basically always have very bad impacts on medium-scale farmers.
05:05It allows importation of products that indeed are below the production of farmers in Europe
05:10and so it has a really big impact on the revenue of these farmers.
05:14So what we've been advocating for is for structural solutions and fair prices.
05:19And what kind of structural solutions do you suggest then?
05:24So within La Via Campesina, we think that the market should be regulated because farming
05:28is not any good.
05:31So we think that according to the UNDRA, the United Declaration on the Right of Farmers
05:36and Peoples in All Areas, food products should not be sold anywhere in the world as any merchandise.
05:46And so we think that we need to regulate and basically to protect prices for small and
05:50medium-scale farmers so they can actually feed in their countries and be protected from
05:57importations that very often come at a cost because of environmental and social distinctions
06:03between countries and regions.
06:05And your union Confédération Paysan, it is opposed, as you say, to various free trade
06:11agreements.
06:12Was it part of today's protests?
06:14Are you joining this week's rallies?
06:17So yeah, obviously.
06:18And we've been fighting against the Mercosur for the past two or three years.
06:23So we joined the demonstration today, but I was also in Brussels last week where we
06:27demonstrated to the farmers from all around Europe because everywhere in Europe farmers
06:34are fighting against this disagreement.
06:38And we have close links with fellow farmers from the Mercosur, actually, from partners
06:46in South America.
06:47And we are in contact with them, and they are also fighting against this in their countries.
06:52So we really see this kind of opposition between small and medium-scale farmers and
06:57agro-industry on the other side.
06:59And we think that if we really want to reach the needs for change in the agriculture system,
07:05to meet with the climate crisis or the social crisis, this agreement is going in the exact
07:09wrong direction.
07:11And the French president, he's in Rio, as we heard earlier this week for the G20 summit.
07:16The French government, though, and the president have been defending French farmers.
07:20France is one of the countries that has showed opposition to this deal.
07:24So what exactly do you want the government to do?
07:26France doesn't have a veto over what happens when it comes down to whether or not this
07:31deal is implemented.
07:32Yes, indeed.
07:33That's an issue.
07:34That's also why we are working with other organizations and farmers from all around
07:39Europe because at the moment the European Union is in charge of the negotiations.
07:44But we also think that our president and our prime minister are not really clear because
07:49they basically say that they oppose the agreement as it is now.
07:52And we think it is unacceptable in any way.
07:56And it's not a question of renegotiating some parts of the agreement.
07:59It should be completely shut down, basically.
08:02And just finally, what do you say, though, to supporters of the deal who say that Europe
08:06at this time shouldn't be closing in on itself and that they say as well that this will enhance
08:11market access and create opportunities for businesses?
08:17So yeah, that's true.
08:19I think it will create opportunities for businesses.
08:20But the problem is we are not businessmen.
08:23And for example, my production, I sell my production to local markets to feed the people
08:27in my village and surroundings.
08:30And I'm being, like, I have direct impact on companies' products being imported from
08:35South America at a price that's lower my production costs.
08:40As small and medium-scale farmers, we are not here to export or to make money on the
08:44international market for people.
08:47And if we want to do that in a proper way, we need to be somehow protected from the market.
08:52OK, Jean-Mathieu, we'll have to leave it there for now.
08:54But thank you so much for your time on the programme.
08:57That's Jean-Mathieu Thévenot, a farmer and also member of the Confédération Paysanne
09:02Agricultural Trade Union.
09:03And apologies just for the quality of that line during parts of the interview.
09:09Do stay with us.
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