Farmers vandalized offices of lawmakers from President Emmanuel Macrons party overnight in southern France, the latest in a series of protests against the approval of a trade deal between the EU and Canada.
The local farmers union also targeted the representative offices of the French state in the regional capital Toulouse, local media reported.
The EU-Canada trade agreement, known as CETA, was approved by the French Parliament on July 23 as part of the ratification process. Since then, anti-CETA protesters have vandalized a dozen parliamentary offices of the ruling LREM party across France, causing growing concern among Macron-affiliated lawmakers.
On Thursday night, protesters dumped manure outside the state office in Toulouse and the local office of LREM MP Monique Iborra. They also walled up the office of another LREM MP, Corinne Vignon.
“This MP [Vignon], like others, voted for CETA even though a few months ago … they voted for more stringent norms for French farmers to abide by than in other countries [as part of an overhaul of the countrys food laws],” Christian Mazas, president of local union FDSEA said.
Iborra denounced the protest as “irresponsible” and “useless.” “The goal of CETA is to impose on Canada sanitary and environmental norms that are similar to ours,” she told local radio
