Opposition seeks to overthrow French government after approval of EU-Mercosur agreement

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, in a photo from October 6, 2025. Reuters/Stephane Mahe/Pool The French government was heavily criticized this Friday (9) by political rivals and farmers after failing to block the approval of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, with far-right and far-left opposition parties presenting motions of censure. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp The far-left France Insubmissa (LFI) party presented a motion on Friday morning, while the far-right National Rally (RN) party, led by Marine Le Pen, said it would also present one against the president of the European Commission in Brussels. It is unlikely, however, that the RN and LFI will secure enough votes in parliament to overthrow the government, led by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. The motions of no confidence underline the negative domestic political backlash that President Emmanuel Macron’s government faces over its trade deal with South American nations, as it struggles to approve an already delayed 2026 budget in a Parliament without a government majority, something unprecedented in the French Fifth Republic. European Commission approves Mercosur deal Still, his threats underscore the dangerous political tightrope the Macron government continues to walk just over a year before the 2027 presidential election, with analysts saying the deal could boost RN’s chances next year. “The motions have little chance of passing,” Stewart Chau, an analyst at Verian Group, told Reuters. “But this signature could give the RN a boost. Rural France votes massively for the RN, and this could support a more explicitly anti-EU narrative,” he said. Lecornu criticizes agreement France voted against the Mercosur agreement. However, the treaty only requires qualified majority support among EU member states for the agreement to be signed by the European Commission and the South American bloc. The European Parliament would then need to ratify the agreement. RN party president Jordan Bardella said Macron’s vote against the deal was mere posturing, amounting to “a betrayal of French farmers.” His boss, Marine Le Pen, asked Macron to threaten to suspend France’s contribution to the European Union budget. Mathilde Panot, from the far-left LFI party, said France had been “humiliated” by Brussels and on the world stage. “Lecornu and Macron must leave,” she wrote in X. Lecornu said the no-confidence motions sent a negative signal abroad at a time when France should be trying to convince other European nations and was also delaying budget negotiations. “To present a motion of censure in this context… is to choose to weaken France’s voice instead of demonstrating national unity in defense of our agriculture”, published Lecornu in X. Approval EU member states gave the provisional green light on Friday to an agreement, which would be the largest free trade agreement ever and which took more than 25 years to prepare. France joined Poland, Hungary, Ireland and Austria in voting against the agreement, but without managing to reach the minimum support for the blockade. With Donald Trump determined to shake up global trade, the European Commission and countries including Germany and Spain argue the deal will help offset trade losses from US tariffs and reduce dependence on China by ensuring access to critical minerals. European Union flags fly in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. REUTERS/Yves Herman Opponents, led by France, the EU’s biggest agricultural producer, say the deal will increase imports of cheap food, including beef, poultry and sugar, harming domestic farmers. France obtained significant concessions from Brussels to protect farmers from the full impact of the deal. But although major French industries benefited from the agreement, including wine, cheese and milk producers and livestock farmers, who represent a third of French farmers, they successfully mobilized public opinion against it.

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