BRUSSELS / ISTANBUL
Farmers across Europe staged widespread protests on Friday as the European Union prepared to approve a long-awaited trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc.
In Belgium, Walloon farmers set up blockades, closing major highways south of Brussels and across Wallonia, Flemish-language broadcaster VRT reported.
On Thursday, protesters attempted to occupy the Brussels Ring at Haut-Ittre, and they continued their actions overnight into Friday morning to disrupt traffic.
“We want to block several main roads for a full day,” Guillaume Van Binst, secretary general of the Walloon Federation of Young Farmers (FJA), said. “Depending on the political response, the action may be extended.”
French authorities closed two highways connecting France and Belgium after farmers blocked key roads at border crossings.
In France, farmers continued protests in the capital, staging a slow-moving convoy on Paris’ ring road that caused severe traffic congestion across the Ile-de-France region.
Around 100 farmers entered the ring road near Porte de Montreuil early Friday, according to the Coordination Rurale, deliberately slowing traffic in what is known as an “operation escargot.”
The action followed tractor protests in central Paris a day earlier, when farmers gathered near landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the National Assembly.
In a statement, farmers said they were mobilizing against what they described as “unbridled free trade,” demanding an end to livestock culling policies and stricter sanitary measures imposed by the government.
Most demonstrations on Thursday were peaceful, though brief tensions were reported outside the National Assembly, where its president, Yael Braun-Pivet, was heckled by some protesters.
In Greece, farmers maintained roadblocks on major routes, including the Tempe tunnel complex in Thessaly and the Nikaia junction near Larissa, according to Greek daily Kathimerini.
They are demanding government action on rising production costs, delayed subsidies and other grievances.
A nationwide coordinating meeting is planned over the weekend, with further talks scheduled with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis next Tuesday.
The EU-Mercosur deal has been under discussion for more than 20 years. Farmers across Europe argue that the agreement undermines domestic markets and jeopardizes both agricultural livelihoods and food standards.
The agreement, which the EU is expected to formally approve later Friday, would remove tariffs on South American products entering Europe and vice versa.
While some EU countries, including France, Ireland, Poland, and Hungary, have voiced opposition, Belgium is expected to abstain. Nevertheless, the deal is likely to pass with the required qualified majority.