Dear Cherubs, Brussels didn’t wake up to policy papers yesterday; it woke up to tractors, smoke, and a very loud reminder that farmers still know how to stop traffic. France, not to be outdone, has been staging its own rural revolt in recent days.

In Brussels, farmers from across Europe drove hundreds of tractors into the EU quarter to protest agricultural policy and the proposed EU–Mercosur trade agreement. According to Reuters, the demonstration escalated into clashes with police, with tear gas deployed and property damaged near EU institutions. Protesters argue that opening European markets to cheaper agricultural imports would push already strained farms closer to collapse.

WHAT HAPPENED IN BRUSSELS
The timing was not accidental. The protest coincided with an EU summit where leaders were discussing trade and economic strategy. As reported by Al Jazeera, farmers fear that products entering the EU under the Mercosur agreement would not be held to the same environmental and welfare standards, creating what they describe as unfair competition. Symbolic gestures, including a mock coffin marked “RIP Agri,” were meant to underline what farmers see as the slow death of European agriculture.

FRANCE IS A DIFFERENT FIRE
Across France, the anger has a more domestic spark. Recent farmer protests there have been driven by cattle disease outbreaks, mandatory culling, and frustration with compensation schemes. Reuters reported that the French government even mobilised military resources to accelerate vaccination efforts, an unusually dramatic move that highlights the scale of concern. For many French farmers, the issue is no longer trade but survival — lost herds, mounting debt, and a sense that decisions are being imposed from afar.

Together, the protests tell a broader story. European agriculture sits at the intersection of climate policy, global trade, and food security. Farmers feel squeezed from all sides: stricter regulations at home, volatile markets abroad, and consumers who want cheap food and high standards at the same time. Tractors on city streets are their way of saying the balance no longer works.

Political leaders are now forced into a familiar dilemma. Pause negotiations, promise reviews, and offer short-term relief — or risk more convoys rolling into capitals. As noted by thisclaimer.com, these protests are less about spectacle and more about leverage, using visibility to force agriculture back into the political spotlight.

Sources list — plain text:
Reuters — https://www.reuters.com/world/belgian-farmers-anti-trade-protest-clash-with-police-2025-12-18/
Al Jazeera — https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/18/angry-farmers-block-brussels-roads-with-tractors-over-mercosur-trade-deal
Reuters (France vaccination) — https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/france-drafts-army-cattle-vaccination-defuse-farmer-protests-2025-12-18/
France24 — https://www.france24.com/en/france/20251216-french-farmers-ire-over-cattle-cull-leads-blocked-roads-likely-delay-mercosur-trade-deal
PBS Newshour — https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/eu-delays-massive-free-trade-deal-with-south-american-bloc-mercosur-amid-farmer-protests
Thisclaimer — https://thisclaimer.com