Explainer: Can France block the Mercosur trade agreement?

France has fervently opposed the free trade agreement between the EU and five South American nations.

Transcript

00:00After decades of negotiations, the Mercosur treaty between the EU and the South American

00:10bloc composed of countries like Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to this day continues

00:17to stir controversy.

00:20Hundreds of farmers have been protesting for the past few weeks in France against the free

00:24trade agreement.

00:26Many believe it will devastate France's agriculture sector and bring unfair competition.

00:56But some experts like this one argue Mercosur's impact could be very limited.

01:27Last Wednesday, France's lower house of parliament voted nearly unanimously against the deal,

01:32a rare show of unity in a politically divided country.

01:37But the vote was merely a symbolic one.

01:39So can France really block this treaty?

01:42To do so, it would need to rally three other EU countries that represent 35 percent of

01:48the bloc's population.

01:50At the moment, only Poland has joined France in opposing the agreement.

01:54Paris still needs to find two other large countries to form a blocking minority.

02:00But several EU heavyweights are in favor of the treaty, including Germany, Portugal and

02:05Spain.

02:06Is the EU interested in closing itself right now, or is it interested in this geopolitical

02:15context that we are living in, and especially after the North American elections, in expanding

02:20The Mercosur summit, held on December 5th and 6th in Uruguay, could be a key moment

02:34for the signing of the agreement.