An Elysée official said Macron and the government had concluded there is “unanimous political rejection” of the trade deal in France and “the benefits of the agreement are not such that they would justify putting agricultural sectors at risk.”
The agreement has long been opposed across the political spectrum in France and faced furious pushback from farmers. Tractors again rolled into Paris to protest the deal on Thursday, rallying in front of the National Assembly, the country’s lower chamber.
France welcomed the EU’s recent moves to make the deal more palatable — which include increased agricultural safeguards and fresh funding pledges in the bloc’s long-term budget — but stressed that those measures are yet to be finalized and enter into force.
The announcement comes hours before a key vote by member countries on the deal.
Alongside Poland, France has been the deal’s fiercest critic — but those countries lack the numbers to stall it on Friday, especially if Italy backs it.
To approve the accord, which has been over two decades in the making and would create a free-trade zone spanning more than 700 million people, a qualified majority of 15 of the EU’s 27 countries representing 65 percent of the bloc’s population need to get behind it.
