The Confédération Paysanne is calling for a demonstration on October 14, 2025 in Paris to stop theEU-Mercosur free-trade agreement, whose ratification process has just been launched by Brussels. France's third-largest farmers' union is inviting all farmers, whether or not they are members of the confederation, as well as citizens' organizations, workers' unions and citizens concerned about their food, to join this large-scale mobilization in the capital.
The date was not chosen at random. October 14 also coincides with the trial of two farmers from the Confédération Paysanne in the Paris court. They had been arrested in December 2024 during a demonstration against a European meeting of major players in the cereals trade held at the Grand Palais, for acts of "violence and attempted intrusion". At the time, the union denounced "police violence" and "an intolerable double standard" compared to the treatment of other agricultural mobilizations.
At the beginning of September, the European Commission validated the text of the trade agreement with the Latin American countries of Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia), the first step before submitting it to the Member States and MEPs. Brussels hopes to obtain their approval before the end of December. This agreement would further open up the European market to South American products, particularly meat, rice and soya, which is causing concern among French farming unions.
For the Confédération Paysanne, "all free-trade agreements are to be rejected, safeguard clause or not. They are catastrophic for the future of our livestock and farms, and for the quality of our food", reads the union's press release published on September 23. The organization believes that these agreements "also undermine our democracy, preventing any public political initiative for social justice, relocalization and transition".
Thomas Gibert, spokesman for the Confédération paysanne and market gardener in Haute-Vienne, explains that the mobilization will be organized against "all liberal policies, which are crushing not only farmers but all workers". The union hopes to create a "broader convergence" bringing together the farming world, associations and committed citizens, notably against the Duplomb law.
The October 14 demonstration follows a call by the FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs for a "major day of action" on September 26, 2025. The majority union is planning decentralized mobilizations to protest against "Mercosur, the taxes imposed by Donald Trump and the flood of substandard international imports".
However, the Confédération paysanne has disassociated itself from this appeal, regretting "the false promises of the September 26 appeal by FNSEA leaders". The union believes that this action will not be enough to build up sufficient strength to impose the non-signature of Mercosur.
Although the precise details of the October 14 demonstration have yet to be worked out, the Confédération Paysanne has called for a"tractor-led" mobilization in the streets of Paris. As with previous agricultural mobilizations in 2024 and May 2025, traffic disruptions are expected in several Paris arrondissements.
During previous agricultural demonstrations, tractor convoys had a particularly heavy impact on the main roads leading to Paris and on certain strategic districts of the capital. Motorists and public transport users will probably have to plan ahead for October 14, which coincides with a busy Monday in the capital.
Detailed information on the route of the demonstration, the roads involved and precise timetables will be communicated in the coming days by the Préfecture de Police de Paris and the Confédération paysanne. We recommend that you consult the Sytadin website regularly to monitor traffic conditions in real time and plan your travel.
The French farming community, already mobilized at the start of 2024 and again in May 2025, is continuing its protest against liberal policies deemed harmful to French farms. Farmers' anger continues unabated in the face of international competition and restrictive European standards. This latest demonstration in the streets of Paris promises to be a high point in the opposition to the free-trade agreement.
