France to vote against EU-Mercosur trade deal

PARIS — France will reject the trade deal between the EU and South American countries of the Mercosur bloc at a key vote on Friday in Brussels.

“France has decided to vote against the signing of the agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote in a social media post on X on Thursday.

“The signing of the agreement is not the end of the story. I will continue to fight for the full and concrete implementation of the commitments obtained from the European Commission and to protect our farmers,” Macron wrote. “The economic benefits of the EU-Mercosur agreement will be limited for French and European growth.”

The announcement comes hours before a key vote by member countries on the deal.

Alongside Poland, France has been the fiercest opponent of the deal — but it lacks the numbers to stall it on Friday, especially if Italy backs it.

If the deal is approved, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will fly to Paraguay to sign the accord as next week. The Mercosur bloc’s other members are Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

This story has been updated.