Farmers in France removed 400 road signs overnight in protest

In France, protesting farmers overnight removed hundreds of road signs at the entrances to settlements. This was reported on November 18 by the TV channel France 3 Régions.

According to him, almost 400 signs in towns and villages in Haute-Saône were unscrewed and moved on the night of November 18. In this way, the farmers denounce the upcoming signing of a free trade agreement with Mercosur (South American Common Market) between the European Union (EU) and several South American countries.

"Friendly motorists and consumers, now you are just like us," the channel quotes a comment by the organizers of the coordinated action.

A video has also circulated on the Net, showing farmers in Puy-en-Vel with a special garbage can scattering documents denouncing administrative difficulties.

The free trade agreement between the European Union and a number of South American countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia) has been under discussion for almost 25 years and could be signed in the coming weeks. Farmers, on the other hand, fear seeing thousands of tons of meat arriving in France at throwaway prices that will not have to meet the standards in force in the country.

Mercosur is a common market of South American countries, an economic and political agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela.

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Earlier in the day, French media reported that farmers near Paris began a protest against a free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the Common Market of South America ("Mercosur"). They blocked part of the highway leading to the French capital with tractors in protest against the free trade agreement, which could be signed at the G20 summit in Brazil that opens on Monday.

For his part, the republic's President Emmanuel Macron said France would not sign the free trade pact as it stands.

The G20 summit will be held on November 18-19 in the Brazilian capital and is dedicated to "building a just world and a sustainable planet." The Russian delegation will be headed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.