UN experts on Monday cautioned against the escalating use of arrests and criminal process against agricultural trade union activity in France, after authorities detained 52 farmers during peaceful protests in Paris this month.

On January 15, union leaders and members of the Confédération Paysanne held protests in opposition to the EU-Mercosur Deal, which seeks to reduce tariffs and link the European market with multiple South American nations. Participants unfurled banners in the office of Directorate General of Economic and Environmental Performance of Enterprises in protest of the agreement.

Protesters included a large delegation from French overseas regions of Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion, and Mayotte, all of which have denounced unfair import costs imposed upon them by the government. Three key spokespersons were among those arrested.

Experts warned that arresting and charging peaceful protesters may violate freedoms of peaceful assembly, expression and association enshrined in both the French Constitution and international law. According to farmer advocate groups, use of BRavM–a specialized French police unit–to quell the protest signaled a new level of peaceful assembly criminalization, raising concerns about proportionality and necessity of police force. 

The EU-Mercosur Deal is a free-trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur bloc nations of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The agreement have been consistently debated for 25 years and would connect South American farmers with millions of EU consumers. However, domestic producers in France fear the deal will undercut them and drive them out of the market.  

The European Parliament voted on the agreement on January 21, with 334 votes in favor and 324 against. Some French officials and lawmakers have resisted ratifying the agreement unless it includes safeguards for European farmers, environmental protections, and regulatory parity.

Agricultural worker advocate groups like La Via Campesina, the Serikat Petani Indonesia (Indonesian Peasants’ Union), Kenyan Peasants League, European Coordination Via Campesina and Latin American Coordination of Rural Organizations have condemned the detentions and called on French authorities to cease what they describe as “the criminalization of peasant movements.”