"Dozens of La Coordination Rurale farmers blocked the A1 Lille-Paris motorway near Fresnes-les-Montauban on Sunday, as protests against the EU-Mercosur trade deal continued to surge across France. Footage shows farmers driving tractors and other agricultural vehicles onto the highway, occupying the toll gate with hay bales. Police attempted to intervene and calm angry protesters but were unable to do so. "The A1 is the most important highway in Europe: 100,000 vehicles a day, 20,000 trucks. So we don't want to accept Mercosur," stated Patrick Legras, president of the farmers' union. "It has been proven that there will be between 8 and 12 per cent more cancers because of the hormones and chemicals used there (Mercosur), which are no longer authorised in France," he added. Others condemned the deal over increased foreign competition and vowed to prolong the protest 'if there is no favourable outcome'. "Traffic is difficult. Together with my colleague, the regional prefect, we have already indicated that the situation is complicated," explained Bertrand Gaume, prefect of the Hauts-de-France region, on the event. Circulation in the opposite direction from Paris to Lille remained accessible, the prefect noted. It comes after EU member states provisionally approved the signing of the trade deal with the South American bloc, securing the 15-country threshold representing 65 per cent of the EU. France, Poland, Austria, Hungary, and Ireland voted against the proposal, while Belgium abstained. Negotiated for 25 years, the deal would phase out most tariffs over 15 years, creating a free‑trade area of about 780 million people. Its signing was delayed from December 2025 amid EU political divisions and is now expected in Paraguay on Tuesday, January 12. Despite the planned signing, the agreement will not take immediate effect. It must still be approved by the European Parliament and ratified by Mercosur member states, a process expected to take several months."