Farmers throw dung in front of French legislators' offices as part of CETA protest

The offices of two members of the LaREM party Emmanuel Macron in Toulouse, in the south-west of the country, were vandalized by farmers in Toulouse. In the case of Monique Iborra, tons of manure were thrown in front of her office, while Corinne Vignon's office was blocked Concrete blocks. Manure was also thrown outside the police headquarters.

According to the farmers of the FDSEA farmers' union, they invited the ten deputies of Haute-Garonne to a debate on the CETA agreement.

However, none of the deputies responded and, according to Christian Mazas, head of the union's regional section, they decided to visit the deputies.

Position of farmers
In an interview with French radio Europe 1, Mazas said the position of lawmakers was meaningless.

"We basically say to [Corinne Vignon] that if she does not listen to us, it is useless for her to continue to be elected, "he said.

He also said that the action was intended to highlight the inconsistencies of the elected officials: "This member, like others, voted for Ceta, whereas a few months ago, at the meeting of the [government committee on food production]it was these same people who voted for French farmers to increase their level of production, arguing that French farmers have [production] standards to be met only in other countries. "

Attacks denounced
Earlier this week, twenty members of the LaREM party signed a platform to denounce a series of attacks on MPs constituency offices.

Several MPs have also been abused on Twitter after voting in favor of the agreement.

"We are beginning to get used to the intolerable", warned the deputies on the website of the French radio Franceinfo. "Our constituency offices are encircled or destroyed, MPs are insulted on social media because they voted in a certain way, some had targeted homes or even burned down."

Constituency offices of a group of ruling party deputies, the LaREM, have been targeted in recent days after the vote in parliament in favor of the controversial EU-Canada trade deal, called Ceta.

Anti-Ceta graffiti was smeared on the walls of some constituency offices and straw and eggs and rotten fish were thrown on the facades.

The lower house of the French Parliament approved the broad EU-Canada trade deal at the end of July after a lively debate over its impact on the environment and a rebellion by some members of the ruling party.

At a vote in the National Assembly, 266 members approved the agreement that was defended by centrist president Emmanuel Macron, while 213 voted against, including the leftist parties and the Extreme right.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) came into force on a preliminary basis in September 2017, but it must also be approved by each of the EU Member States to become permanent.

Legislation in France will now pbad to the Senate before being promulgated by Macron at a later date.

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