Farmers enter Paris on tractors in protest at trade deal

Paris, France: French farmers rolled into Paris on tractors Thursday morning in a show against a free trade deal they fear will create unfair competit...

Paris, France: French farmers rolled into Paris on tractors Thursday morning in a show against a free trade deal they fear will create unfair competition.

Dozens of tractors arrived before dawn and cruised through Paris, with some reaching the Eiffel Tower and others at the Arc de Triomphe, in a protest organised by the Rural Confederation union.

"We said we'd come up to Paris -- here we are," said Ludovic Ducloux, co-head of one of the union's chapters.

One of them bore the message "No To Mercosur", referring to a free trade deal with four South American nations.

The EU-Mercosur deal would create the world's biggest free-trade area and help the 27-nation bloc to export more vehicles, machinery, wines and spirits to Latin America.