"Hundreds of farmers rallied in Montreuil-sur-Mer of Pas-de-Calais, northern France, on Monday, blocking highways with tractors and lighting fires to protest French agricultural policies and the EU-Mercosur trade deal. Footage shows protesters on tractors blocking highways, as others use excavators to feed hay and tyres into large fires. Banners denouncing government policies and the Mercosur deal were displayed on the vehicles, while police were deployed to monitor the scene. Benoit Dolle, a representative of the National Rally, criticised President Emmanuel Macron over his push for the deal, calling him a 'staunch Europeanist'. "His sole desire, if you will, is essentially to promote the distribution and sale of German Audi and Mercedes vehicles, sacrificing French agriculture in the process. And he feels no shame about it," Dolle said. Others condemned the deal, citing 'unfair' competition in the agricultural sector and its negative impact on domestic consumption. "Brazil is the world's largest consumer of pesticides. We also know very well that the standards that exist in Brazil are completely uncontrollable," stated Laurent Gladieux, department representative for Pas-de-Calais. "Consumers want to eat French food, they want to eat quality food, they don't want to eat Ukrainian chicken, they don't want to eat Argentine beef [...] let's respect them (French farmers) by buying their products at their fair value," a farmer expressed. The protest was called by France's second-largest agricultural union - Rural Coordination (RC) - and gathered up to 200 workers, according to local media. It follows a surge of farmers' demonstrations in northern France over the Mercosur deal and mass cattle culls amid a lumpy skin disease outbreak, while unrest in the southwest has eased after the government's holiday truce request. The protests come in response to the EU-Mercosur trade deal, submitted in September for approval, which seeks to open trade with South America but has sparked fears of unfair competition from lower-standard imports."