In the last few weeks, European farmers carried out a series of actions – some largely symbolic – to protest against the free trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries. The deal, approved by Europe on January 9 and set to be signed in Paraguay on Saturday, January 17, threatens to shake up European agriculture, already weakened in many member countries by successive crises in recent years.

France’s vulnerabilities as Europe’s top agricultural power

Farmers’ concerns may lead people to forget that France remains the leading agricultural power in Europe. This position was confirmed in 2024, according to data published by France’s Ministry of Agriculture. Even though that year, due to poor cereal and grape harvests – both hit by unfavorable weather – the value of French agricultural production declined to €77.1 billion, a figure that does not include subsidies from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). As a result, the share of French agricultural output among the 27 EU member states slipped slightly to 16.2%, down from 18% in 2023. Given the more abundant harvests last summer, this figure is expected to rebound to €92.4 billion in 2025.

France sits at the top of the European agricultural rankings thanks to its cereal, wine, sugar and beef industries, as well as its oyster production. It holds second place in the dairy sector, including milk, cheese and butter. However, in terms of number of farms, France ranks only sixth, with fewer than 350,000 farms. Between 2020 and 2023, according to the latest census, 40,000 farms disappeared from the map.

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