Thousands of farmers gathered in Strasbourg on Tuesday to protest against the European Union’s trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc and to lobby members of the European Parliament on the eve of a vote to ratify the deal.
The demonstration comes after the signing of the trade agreement between the European Union and the Latin American Mercosur countries in Paraguay.
The move has led to the right-wing Patriots for Europe parliamentary group proposing yet another motion of no-confidence in Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for what it called her “blatant disregard for the European Parliament, national parliaments, and millions of European farmers.”
🇫🇷🇪🇺 26-year-old French organic farmer, Anaïs Foulquier, says that the EU's new Mercosur free trade deal with South America will destroy her farm.
"We are young organic farmers. We rear our own goats, dairy cows and laying hens. We respect everything, the standards, the… pic.twitter.com/UyJjN0cWY8
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) January 20, 2026Farmers “do not intend to give up,” Hervé Lapie, secretary general of the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions (FNSEA), told Agence France-Presse, as cited by Le Monde.
Social media footage posted on Tuesday morning showed hundreds of tractors arriving in the Alsatian capital to participate in the demonstration, resulting in a large police presence being deployed outside the European Parliament, which is currently in session.
In total, around 4,000 farmers from across the European Union, including Italy, Belgium, and Germany, were expected, with French farmers forming the majority.
“Even if some countries support Mercosur, within those countries there are MEPs who have serious doubts, and it could come down to just a few votes, so we need to keep up the pressure,” Lapie said. The farmers plan to remain in Strasbourg until Wednesday, when the parliamentary vote is expected to take place.
The Mercosur agreement is intended to boost EU exports of cars, machinery, wines and spirits to Latin America, while facilitating imports into Europe of South American beef, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans. Farmers’ organizations, however, warn that the deal will destabilize European agriculture by exposing it to cheaper imports that do not necessarily comply with EU production standards, citing what they describe as insufficient controls.
Des paroles et des actes : les agriculteurs en colère contre le #MercosurUE étaient présents en nombre à #Strasbourg ! pic.twitter.com/13oNXGTye3
— Virginie Joron (@v_joron) January 20, 2026“We’re afraid for ourselves, for our income, but also for our fellow citizens, who will see food products arriving that we’re not allowed to produce here,” Lapie said. “To impose so many standards and regulations on French and European farmers that undermine our competitiveness, and then import food products that don’t even comply with what’s required of us… It’s really scraping the bottom of the barrel.”
The decision now lies with MEPs, who must determine whether to refer the agreement to Europe’s top court for judicial review. “It is up to the European Parliament to decide now whether to refer the matter to the European Court of Justice. I understand this, and I hope that this process will be completed,” French Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard said on TF1 on Tuesday morning.
À la veille du vote du Parlement européen pour saisir la CJUE contre le Mercosur, nous sommes des milliers à manifester à Strasbourg contre ce traité mortel pour nos agriculteurs.
On ne lâche rien !
Continuez à signer la pétition https://t.co/HOmju5fhEC pic.twitter.com/DYD4qhSpND
— Marion Maréchal (@MarionMarechal) January 20, 2026French nationalist MEP Marion Maréchal joined the farmers in Strasbourg, writing on X: “On the eve of the European Parliament’s vote to refer Mercosur to the CJEU, thousands of us are demonstrating in Strasbourg against this treaty that is deadly for our farmers. We don’t give up.”
A petition circulated alongside the protest calls for the agreement to be scrapped. “France is the leading agricultural power in Europe and the second largest contributor to the EU budget: we cannot allow this agreement to be imposed upon us,” it reads.
Accord Mercosur signé : un coup de poignard dans le dos de nos agriculteurs et un scandale démocratique.
Jeudi sera mis au vote notre motion de censure : que chacun prenne ses responsabilités ! pic.twitter.com/nqvDFIkuFC
— Jean-Paul GARRAUD (@JPGarraud) January 20, 2026In a statement, the FNSEA said, “Today, more than 5,000 farmers from all over Europe are mobilizing in Strasbourg to say no to Mercosur. We will walk to the European Parliament to ask European MPs to support a strong CAP [Common Agricultural Policy], a decent income, and a real vision for the future of our agriculture.”
Addressing the European Parliament, Jean-Paul Garraud, president of the National Rally parliamentary group, described the Mercosur agreement as “a stab in the back for our farmers and a democratic scandal.” He said a motion of censure would be put to a vote on Thursday, adding, “Let everyone take responsibility.”
🗣️ | @_KingaGal 🇭🇺: For Europe’s agricultural sector, the Mercosur agreement is the last straw. The Patriots for Europe, with thousands of farmers and millions of voters behind us, say clearly: enough.
Policies that undermine farmers and distort competition are working against… pic.twitter.com/dVZRV4S9bt
— Patriots for Europe (@PatriotsEP) January 20, 2026Patriots for Europe vice-president Kinga Gál also told the chamber on Tuesday, “We say enough. Enough with the betrayal of Europe’s farmers. Enough with policies that go against Europe’s own interests. We demand new leadership that serves the European people, rather than Brussels. Ursula von der Leyen and her commission have to go.”
