Lula accuses France of “lack of sensitivity” for not accepting EU-Mercosur agreement

The President of Brazil today accused France of “lack of sensitivity” for not accepting the free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur and said he will put pressure on his French counterpart.

“There is a lack of a certain political sensitivity, economic sensitivity, sensitivity of interests, on the part of French producers,” stated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the closing of the Brazil-France Economic Forum, at the Intercontinental Hotel, in Paris.

The Brazilian head of state once again insisted on bringing together farmers from both countries, “who will have more affinity than technicians”, so that both sides understand that the agreement will not be a competition, as the French fear.

“Why can’t I buy a Brazilian chicken one day and then a French one later?” asked Lula, for whom the EU-Mercosur agreement would be “a demonstration in front of those who want to defeat multilateralism”, a word he said he had added to the French dictionary with his state visit to the country.

In an interview given to Brazilian television Globonews and released today, Macron stated that he will ratify the EU-Mercosur agreement if an additional protocol of “mirror or safeguard clauses” is introduced that equalizes conditions for farmers on both sides of the Atlantic.

For Macron, this is not a protectionist measure, but one of “justice and coherence”, since European farmers are required to meet a series of requirements “to protect biodiversity and human health” and those who want to produce in Mercosur and export to Europe “should do so under the same conditions”.

The Brazilian President asked France to be “open enough” to validate a pact that, in his understanding, “will surprise many”, because those who criticize it “will discover that the agricultural sectors [of both regions] are complementary”.

Lula said he was “optimistic” about assuming the presidency of Mercosur on July 6, for six months, as he intends to convince the French President to sign the agreement that will unite the European Union and South America and that involves “722 million people”.

“I will take advantage of the friendship I have with Macron and I will call him every week and tell him: 'Macron, my friend, my companion, let's make the deal'”, said Lula, making the audience laugh.

The Brazil-France Economic Forum, which culminated Lula's state visit to Paris, ended with the announcement of investment commitments from large French companies in the order of 100,000 million reais (around 17,700 million euros) over five years from 2026, without specifying the companies or sectors.

Regarding the expression “the Amazon is the lungs of the world”, Lula da Silva joked, saying that he has been saying for years that they have been facing “pneumonia”, asking the richest countries that began “industrialization and gas emissions much longer ago” to help them.

The Brazilian head of state called for all countries to take responsibility for their commitment to the planet, arguing that “governance must be collective”.

“We are destroying the planet. It is not possible that we are the only intelligent species in the animal kingdom and yet we are so ignorant as to destroy the world we live in. There is no other world, it is only here,” said Lula, also criticizing those who do not believe in experts and climate change.

For the Brazilian President, his country can take control of change, as it has already been doing with the issue of decarbonization, but there continues to be a serious problem in the world related to poverty and hunger, for which it is necessary to relearn how to live in community, without individualism.

The Brazilian President received the title of 'Doctor Honoris Causa' today at the University of Paris 8, before travelling to the third United Nations Conference on the Oceans in Nice and then to Lyon.