Paris (AFP) – The French Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly voted against a free-trade agreement between the European Union and Canada, dealing a stinging blow to the government of President Emmanuel Macron.
The no vote in the upper house came after the president’s left and right-wing opponents teamed up in an unusual alliance to torpedo the deal.
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has been in force provisionally since 2017, but requires ratification in all EU member countries to take full effect.
Its backers say French exports to Canada increased by 33 percent between 2017 and 2023 while imports rose 35 percent thanks to the agreement.
The French government says French wine and dairy producers are those to have most benefitted.
But there is also plenty of opposition, notably around food safety, with critics pointing to Canada’s laxer approach to genetically modified organisms, hormones, pesticides and herbicides, and lower standards on animal welfare compared to the European Union.
Macron and his centrist parliamentary allies managed to get CETA approved in the National Assembly lower house in 2019 by a slim margin, but backing by the Senate upper house — where they are in a clear minority — is needed for ratification.
The French Communist party had placed the treaty on Thursday’s Senate agenda, with the stated aim of getting it defeated with the help of the right-wing Republicans (LR).
Accusing the government of treating parliament “like a doormat”, Communist senator Fabien Gay had announced “a political thunderclap”.
After scenes of tension rarely seen in the upper house, senators voted 211 against and 44 for the treaty and then confirmed the rejection with a second vote.
“We need free-trade agreements, but not at the expense of our sovereignty, especially for food,” said Bruno Retailleau, LR’s leader in the Senate.
– ‘Damaging to our economy’ –
The Senate’s decision received mixed reviews from French producers.
Patrick Benezit, of the National Bovine Federation representing beef cattle farmers, said it was good news.
Senators made “the right choice to not ratify a treaty that authorises food products that don’t respect our conditions of production,” he said.
But Nicolas Ozanam, of the Federation of Wine and Spirits Exporters, said the decision seemed “totally surreal” as CETA had so far boosted sales abroad.
Foreign Trade Minister Franck Riester said the vote had been motivated by electoral considerations ahead of European Parliament elections in June, seen as a key test for Macron.
Non-ratification is “damaging to our economy and our agriculture”, he said on X, formerly Twitter.
“The debate is not over,” he said.
Like all EU trade deals, CETA was negotiated by the European Commission, but also needs approval from each EU member.
Although a setback for the government the no vote does not in itself nullify the agreement.
Under EU rules, the rejection is only effective if the government officially notifies the EU, which Macron is not expected to do.
– New vote?-
The government has not said how it will handle the situation, but one option is to take the treaty back to the National Assembly for a fresh debate and vote.
Communist lawmakers quickly announced that they want to put CETA back on the National Assembly’s agenda as soon as May 30, hoping that the lower house will overturn its earlier approval and also vote against CETA.
France is the second country to have withheld ratification.
The parliament of the first, Cyprus, voted no because of disagreement over the labelling of halloumi cheese.
Cyprus has not notified the EU Commission of its no vote and continues to apply the treaty.
There have been angry demonstrations in several EU countries against the deal, including by climate activists.
French senators reported having received an unusual amount of attention from companies, associations, the government and the Canadian embassy all hoping to sway them.
© 2024 AFP
