France's Senate rejects bill to ratify EU-Canada trade deal because of farmers' concerns

France's Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to reject legislation to ratify a 2017 trade deal between the European Union and Canada that has been criticized by farmers as bringing unfair competition from abroad.

France's Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to reject legislation to ratify a 2017 trade deal between the European Union and Canada that has been criticized by farmers as bringing unfair competition from abroad.

The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, provisionally went into effect in September 2017 after all EU governments agreed to it, but its full implementation requires approval by each national parliament.

Thursday's 211-44 vote in the Senate does not necessarily mean that France ultimately will reject ratification.

The vote sends the bill back to the powerful National Assembly, which had approved it in 2019 and can still move to override the Senate rejection and give final approval to the measure.

But Macron's centrist alliance, which has advocated for the adoption of the CETA agreement, lost its majority at the lower house in 2022, making the outcome of a new vote uncertain.

If the Assembly should reject the legislation during its second vote, that would signal France’s failure to ratify and could unravel the EU trade deal.

In the Senate, opposition from both the conservative majority and leftist legislators centered on concerns about shielding local farmers from what they consider unfair competition and protecting France's food sovereignty. The Assembly has not yet set a date to consider the legislation.