Macron says France to vote against EU-Mercosur deal

The accord would create one of the world's biggest free-trade areas and allow the 27-nation European Union to export more vehicles, machinery, wines and spirits to Latin America.

But farmers fear being undercut by a flow of cheaper goods from agricultural giant Brazil and its neighbours.

Dozens of tractors arrived before dawn on Thursday and drove through Paris, some pausing at the Eiffel Tower and others at the Arc de Triomphe, before farmers protested outside the lower house of parliament.

One of the tractors bore the message "No to Mercosur", referring to the deal with the bloc comprising Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.

"We're not here to cause trouble," Damien Cornier, a 49-year-old farmer from the northwest Eure region, told AFP.

"We just want to work and make a living from our profession." 

- Not 'end of story' -

Plans to seal the deal at a gathering in Brazil last month ran into a late roadblock as heavyweights Italy and France demanded a postponement over concerns for the farming sector.

The EU on Tuesday offered a carrot to farmers, promising to unlock funds for the sector as it seeks to get the accord over the line.

Macron said the European Commission should be credited for "undeniable progress" in the details of the deal, but he said his country would vote against it anyway after "unanimous political rejection" in parliament.

EU member states are expected to give the text the final go-ahead on Friday, paving the way for a formal signature next week.

"The signing stage does not mark the end of the story," Macron said.

"I will continue to fight for the full, concrete implementation of the commitments obtained from the European Commission and to protect our farmers," he said.

Unions have called for more protests in front of the EU Parliament building in the French city of Strasbourg on January 20 if the deal is signed.

There were 100 tractors in the Paris region, the interior ministry told AFP earlier on Thursday, but "most are blocked at the gates of the capital".

It later said 670 protesters were in the capital.

In another protest near the southwestern city of Bordeaux, about 40 farm vehicles blocked access to a fuel depot, local officials said.

Farmers are also upset over a government decision to cull cows in response to the spread of nodular dermatitis, a bovine sickness widely known as lumpy skin disease.

- Italy supports deal -

Belgian farmers have also staged mass protests against the trade deal. About 1,000 honking tractors, including some from France, rolled into Brussels in December.

Ireland also said Thursday it would vote against the trade deal.

Germany and Spain are however strongly in favour of the agreement, believing it will provide a welcome boost to their industries, hampered by Chinese competition and US tariffs.

Rome and Paris have called for tougher safeguard clauses, tighter import controls and more stringent standards on Mercosur producers to protect their farmers.

But Italy hailed the benefits of the agreement on Wednesday, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani saying the country had "always supported the conclusion of the deal".

burs-ah/cc