"Farmers from across France drove their tractors into central Paris on Tuesday in a show of defiance against the proposed EU-Mercosur trade agreement, warning that it would have a 'deadly' impact on food sovereignty and small-scale agriculture. Footage shows tractors driving past the Eiffel Tower, as demonstrators and agricultural associations marched from Les Invalides, chanting slogans and carrying signs reading 'Mercosur is dead' and 'Mercosur betrays our cultures.' The EU-Mercosur deal is a partnership aimed at creating one of the world's largest trade zones between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and eliminating more than 90 percent of tariffs, boosting investment, and deepening political ties with Argentina. Protesters accused the European Commission of pushing forward with the deal despite widespread opposition. “It’s a betrayal. Our products are not protected at all. There are fewer and fewer farmers. We are suffering. We are being suffocated,” said Laurent Chathuant, national secretary of the farmers' union, who travelled from Guadeloupe to join the demonstration. Another union spokesperson, Sylvie from Gers, criticised what she described as the 'financialised economy' driving such policies, arguing that "destroying agriculture means destroying territories, and in many countries, that's how famine and therefore war are caused." Economist Maxime Combes from the Association for International Solidarity (AITEC) said that the agreement still lacked enough support to be ratified, adding that 'the reasons that led the agricultural sector and civil society organisations to urge France to reject the contents of the Mercosur free trade agreement remain unchanged.' The European Commission submitted the draft deal to the 27 EU member states and the European Parliament in early September for eventual approval, while Brussels says it includes 'solid' guarantees for European farmers."