Open in full screen mode The French Senate's vote against the CETA treaty must lead to a new examination by the National Assembly, again with a serious risk of rejection. (Archive photo) Agence France-Presse The French Senate opposed the ratification of the CETA treaty on Thursday, i.e. The global economic and commercial free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Canada, thanks to a convenient alliance of left-right oppositions, to the great dismay of the government, defender of the agreement. In an extremely tense climate, the senators rejected by 211 votes to 44 the article of the bill relating to this treaty, applied provisionally since 2017, but never submitted to the upper house. They then confirmed this rejection by a final vote.
Several people in France were openly against free trade agreements, including the one with Canada, as in this photo dating from 2019. (Photo d 'archives)
The Senate vote must lead to a new examination by the National Assembly, again with a serious risk of rejection.
Signed in 2016 and adopted a year later at the European level, CETA was narrowly validated in the French National Assembly in 2019.
If a national Parliament declares the non-ratification of the treaty, this calls into question its provisional application at the level of the entire EU, provided however that the French government notifies Brussels of the decision of its Parliament.< /p>
Currently, ten Member States have not completed the ratification process and only one has rejected it: Cyprus. But the country never notified this rejection, which allows the agreement to continue to apply.
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Motion condemning Michaud: “I live well with my vote”, said François Legault
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Motion condemning Michaud: “I live well with my vote,” says François Legault
ELSELL ON INFO: Motion condemning Michaud: “I live well with my vote,” says François Legault
The Minister for Foreign Trade, Franck Riester, defended CETA before the vote , fearing sending a devastating signal to the country's European partners.
CETA, which notably removes customs duties on 98% of products exchanged between the European Union and Canada, is strongly criticized, in particular by French breeders who report meat imports at cost prices much lower than theirs and with less strict methods than those to which they are subject.< /p>