PARIS: More than 350 tractors parked near the French parliament building on Tuesday after driving down the Champs-Elysees avenue, as farmers protested a litany of woes, including the EU-Mercosur trade deal.&nbsp;The protests reflect a deep sense of malaise afflicting France&#39;s agricultural sector, with the planned signing of an accord between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc seen as the last straw.&nbsp;French farmers have complained about economic uncertainties and environmental rules, and have since December staged protests and set up roadblocks over the government&#39;s handling of a lumpy skin disease outbreak.&nbsp;Arriving from towns around Paris and beyond, the protesters parked their tractors not far from the National Assembly in central Paris.&nbsp;&quot;We&#39;re at the end of our tether,&quot; said one of the activists, Guillaume Moret, 56.&nbsp;&quot;We haven&#39;t made any money from our farms for three years,&quot; said the head of the FNSEA union for the Paris region.&nbsp;&quot;The peasant revolt continues,&quot; read a banner unfurled in front of the legislature.&nbsp;The FNSEA, France&#39;s leading agricultural union, and another union, Jeunes Agriculteurs, are demanding &quot;concrete and immediate action&quot; from the government.&nbsp;Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard, who came out to meet the farmers, said Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu would make a new announcement later Tuesday.&nbsp;The protesters also spoke with Yael Braun-Pivet, head of parliament&#39;s lower house.&nbsp;&nbsp;No cows at agriculture show&nbsp;&nbsp;The government last week already announced a planned 300-million-euro package to support the farmers, as well as other measures including an increase in the number of wolves that can be killed.&nbsp;In a move highlighting the atmosphere, France&#39;s biggest agricultural show will this year feature no cows, for the first time since the event&#39;s creation in 1964.&nbsp;Farmers, driven by health concerns and a sense of solidarity with breeders affected by the lumpy skin disease outbreak, have refused to present their cattle at the fair in February.&nbsp;The event&#39;s chairman, Jerome Despey, called the move a &quot;blow to the show.&quot;&nbsp;The first convoy of about 15 tractors rolled into the French capital shortly before 6:00 am (0500 GMT). Joined by dozens of others, they drove down the Champs-Elysees honking their horns.&nbsp;&quot;We won&#39;t leave without measures that allow us to catch our breath a little,&quot; said protester Guillaume Moret.&nbsp;Several days before the scheduled signing of the EU-Mercosur agreement in Paraguay on Saturday, the FNSEA union reiterated its opposition to the deal and also listed several national &quot;priorities&quot; to be defended on Tuesday.&nbsp;The union is calling on the government to address a number of issues including wolf predation and the use of fertilisers.&nbsp;Police said some 400 protesters had gathered near the parliament building. The FNSEA union put turnout at over 500 tractors and 800 farmers.&nbsp;DissatisfactionMost of the European Union&#39;s 27 nations back the Mercosur trade deal, which supporters argue is crucial to boost exports, help the continent&#39;s ailing economy and foster diplomatic ties at a time of global uncertainty.&nbsp;The deal, more than 25 years in the making, would create one of the world&#39;s largest free-trade areas, boosting commerce between the EU and the Mercosur bloc comprising Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.&nbsp;It would see the European Union export machinery, chemicals and pharmaceuticals with lowered tariffs applied.&nbsp;But farmers in France and several other countries fear being undercut by an influx of cheap beef and other agricultural products from South America.&nbsp;Thousands of farmers in France and Ireland staged protests over the weekend.&nbsp;In France, politicians across the divide have also been up in arms against the deal, which they view as an assault on the country&#39;s influential farming sector.

Europe

Hundreds of French farmers drove tractors to Paris, protesting economic hardship, disease rules, and the EU-Mercosur trade deal they fear will undercut them, demanding immediate government action as agriculture faces deep crisis nationwide sector pressure.

Furious farmers roll hundreds of tractors into Paris in fresh protests

Reuters

PARIS: France&#39;s parliament brought down the government on Monday over its plans to tame the ballooning national <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/french-government-under-pressure-over-wealth-tax-proposal" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">debt</a>, deepening a political crisis that is weakening the euro zone&#39;s second-largest economy. Lawmakers voted to oust Prime Minister Francois Bayrou and his minority government with 364 votes against the veteran centrist politician and 194 in his favour. President Emmanuel Macron, who is facing calls from the opposition to dissolve parliament and resign, will instead hunt for his fifth prime minister in less than two years. His office said he would appoint one in the next few days. Challenges aheadThe next government&#39;s most pressing task will be to pass a budget, the same challenge Francois Bayrou faced when he took office nine months ago. Securing the backing of a very divided parliament will be equally hard. &quot;You have the power to bring down the government, but you do not have the power to erase reality,&quot; Bayrou told lawmakers before losing the confidence vote. &quot;Reality will remain relentless: expenses will continue to rise, and the burden of debt, already unbearable, will grow heavier and more costly,&quot; he said. No support for deficit-lowering strategyBayrou will tender his resignation on Tuesday, his office said. He had called the confidence vote to try to win parliamentary support for his strategy to lower a deficit that stands at nearly double the European Union&#39;s 3% ceiling, and to start tackling a debt pile equivalent to 114% of GDP. But opposition parties were in little mood to rally behind his planned savings of 44 billion euros ($51.51 billion) in next year&#39;s budget, with an election for Macron&#39;s successor looming in 2027. &quot;This moment marks the end of the agony of a phantom government,&quot; far-right leader Marine Le Pen said, pushing for a snap parliamentary election, which Macron has so far ruled out. &quot;Macron is now on the front line facing the people. He too must go,&quot; Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the hard-left France Unbowed, said on X. Who&#39;s next?A lengthy period of political and fiscal uncertainty risks undermining Macron&#39;s influence in Europe at a time when the United States is talking tough on trade and <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/macron-to-announce-france-restoring-voluntary-military-service" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">security</a>, and war is raging in Ukraine on Europe&#39;s eastern flank. &nbsp; The French president could now nominate a politician from his own centrist minority ruling group or from the ranks of conservatives as the next premier, but that would mean doubling down on a strategy that has failed to yield a stable alliance. He also could tack to the left and nominate a moderate socialist, or choose a technocrat. No scenario would be likely to hand the next government a parliamentary majority. It was inevitable that the need to form a new government would result in a dilution of the deficit reduction plan, Finance Minister Eric Lombard said before the vote. Macron may eventually decide the only path out of the crisis lies in calling a snap election, but he has so far resisted calls from Le Pen&#39;s National Rally and from France Unbowed to dissolve parliament a second time.&nbsp; Fiscal messFinancial markets had anticipated the confidence vote would fail and there was little immediate reaction on Monday. French markets face another test on Friday, when Fitch Ratings reviews its sovereign rating for France. Moody&#39;s and S&amp;P Global follow with their own rating reviews in October and November. &quot;Over the near-term, I&#39;m sure everyone in markets expects paralysis and downward pressure on ratings,&quot; said Chris Scicluna, head of economic research for Daiwa Capital Markets. As for now, &quot;the outcome was as expected, so markets should react in a modest way.&quot; France&#39;s EU peers will be watching closely.&nbsp; High debt servicingFrance holds the highest deficit as a percentage of GDP in the euro zone - the bloc using the EU&#39;s single currency. It pays more to service its debt than Spain and spreads against benchmark German 10-year bonds are at their highest level in four months.&nbsp; A rating downgrade would hamper France&#39;s ability to raise money at low interest rates from investors, potentially deepening its debt problems.&nbsp; The Socialists have offered a counter-budget that would impose a tax of at least 2% on personal wealth greater than 100 million euros ($117.5 million) and generate savings of 22 billion euros - a proposal that would be tough to marry with the pro-business reform agenda of Macron&#39;s presidency. Future disruptions expectedDiscontent may also start brewing on the streets. A grassroots protest movement called &quot;Bloquons Tout&quot; (&quot;Let&#39;s Block Everything&quot;) is calling for nationwide disruption on Wednesday. Trade unions are plotting walkouts the week after. Like many in France, <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/thousands-march-in-france-to-demand-action-on-violence-against-women" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mohamed</a>, 80, who sells produce at the Aligre market in Paris, doesn&#39;t think the politicians will find a way out.&nbsp; &quot;Come back in 10 days and you&#39;ll see nothing will have changed. There won&#39;t be a majority, there will be no budget.&quot;

France’s parliament voted to oust Prime Minister François Bayrou and his government over debt-reduction plans, deepening a political crisis for President Macron. 

Articles tagged with "French parliament"

Furious farmers roll hundreds of tractors into Paris in fresh protests

French parliament ousts prime minister, deepening political crisis