French anger at ‘sneaky’ EU food deal pushed through with South American countries after prime minister lost no-confidence vote

The EU has exploited the power vacuum in Paris to push through a trade deal with South American countries vehemently opposed by French ministers and farmers.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen jetted to Montevideo, Uruguay, to conclude the trade deal yesterday, which she described as a ‘win-win agreement’.

The free trade arrangement, which follows nearly 25 years of negotiations, was agreed at a meeting of the Mercosur trade bloc, which also includes Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.

But the deal was agreed while the French government was in a state of paralysis following the resignation of Prime Minister Michele Barnier on Thursday after a no-confidence vote.

President Emmanuel Macron is in talks and said he hopes to announce a successor ‘in the coming days’.

News of the deal provoked anger among farmers who fear it will pave the way for cheaper imports.

But the European farmers’ group COPA-COGECA immediately reiterated its opposition to the agreement and called for a “flash” protest in Brussels on Monday.

EU countries and the European Parliament “must now firmly challenge the terms of this agreement,” the group said.

French and Belgian farmers block the border between the two countries with tractors, with a placard reading ‘is there a future for us’?

France, which has been rocked by successive protests by farmers saying the agreement would bring unfair competition, has tried to forge a blocking minority of EU countries.

Poland has rallied to France’s side, and Italian government sources say Rome believes “the conditions are not met” to back the deal. The Netherlands and Austria have also expressed reservations.

France’s minister for trade, Sophie Primas, said of Ms von der Leyen’s announcement: ‘Today is not the end of the story…. This only commits the commission, not the (EU) member states.’

But Germany, desperate to open more trade opportunities amid gloom for its manufacturing sector, had strongly come out in favour of the EU-Mercosur deal, as had Spain.

The agreement would create a sprawling free-trade zone of more than 700 million people.

But the EU-Mercosur deal still needs approval from at least 15 of the European Union’s 27 member nations representing 65 percent of the EU population, as well as the European Parliament.

Ms von der Leyen said efforts being made by the government of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to protect the Amazon ‘are welcome, and they are necessary – but preserving the Amazon is a shared responsibility of all humanity’.

Responding to European farmers, she told them: ‘We have heard you, listened to your concerns, and we are acting on them. This agreement includes robust safeguards to protect your livelihoods.”

The deal, once ratified, would allow the EU to export cars, machinery and pharmaceutical products more easily to South America.

In return, Brazil and its neighbours would be able to sell meat, sugar, rice, honey, soybeans and other products to Europe with fewer restrictions.

Protesters hold a banner reading ‘More income for farmers, less speculation’ at the Grand Palais in Paris

A man painting a message which translates to ‘No confidence vote sends us to the wall’, as farmers brick up the office of former president Francois Hollande in Tulle, central France

It comes as UK farmers protesting about inheritance tax changes held demonstrations which closed two of Wales’s busiest ports on Thursday night – one for six hours.

Farmers gathered at Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, and Holyhead, Anglesey, at 9pm and Fishguard was not reopened until 1am, while Holyhead was shut until 3am.

A spokeswoman for Stena Line, which operates both ports, said one ferry left Holyhead three hours late as a result. It did not reveal any details of disruption at Fishguard.

Farmer Gareth Wyn Jones, among Welsh farmers who have been taking part in protests about the decision to scrap an exemption to inheritance tax for farms being passed down the generations, said: ‘It’s time government began listening to the farming community’