Hundreds of tractors began rolling into the European quarter of the EU capital on Thursday morning, ahead of a high-stakes summit among European Union leaders.

Convoys of farmers had arrived overnight, coming primarily from the Netherlands scene of strong mobilisation among farmers in recent years but also from Belgium and northern France.

French and Belgian farmers also began demonstrating on Wednesday around Bierset airport, near Lige a symbolic gathering place, as the airport is a logistics hub and could be the gateway for South Americanagriculturalimports in the future.

Farmers, particularly in France, worry that the Mercosur deal which will be discussed at the EU leaders meeting will see them undercut by a flow of cheaper goods from agricultural giant Brazil and its neighbours.

They also oppose plans put forward by the European Commission to overhaul the EU's farming subsidies.

'Unprecedented anger'

France's President Emmanuel Macron warned on Thursday that Paris would not support the Mercosur deal without stronger safeguards for itsfarmers.

"I want to tell our farmers, who have been making France's position clear all along: we consider that we are not there yet, and the deal cannot be signed [as it currently stands]', he told reporters, vowing that France would oppose any "attempt to force this through".

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Belgium's Walloon Agricultural Federation (FWA) said that Brussels' plans to slash the subsidies scheme by 20 percent while pushing ahead with the Mercosur deal were "totally unacceptable".

The FWA will be among more than 40 national farming groups represented at Thursdays demonstration. Pan-European agriculture lobby group Copa-Cogeca said it expected 10,000 people to show up.

French agricultural union Confederation Paysanne told French news agency AFP that "anger in rural areas is reaching unprecedented levels.

'We are preparing to win a war'

For French farmers like Bertrand Chauffier, who grows sugar beets among other crops, Mercosur directly threatens the sugar industry in France.

"We said it loud and clear 18 months ago when we went out on the highways. We didn't want products that weren't produced the same way as ours. The price of sugar will be wiped out. It's unfair competition."

To make his point, he has attached a large wooden coffin to the front of his tractor, symbolising the impending demise of his business.

"We put it on hinges so it's clearly visible that it's empty," he explained to RFI. "Empty like the shopping carts of consumers if French agriculture disappears."

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He says the protesters will stay mobilised as long as necessary.

"We are preparing to win a war. A war is fought with well-fed men, tables, camp beds and water so that we can withstand a siege if our policies do not give us conclusive results," Chauffier said.

Adding to anger over the trade deal are problems closer to home, notably inFrench cattle farming. The industry has been facing an acute crisis over the past 10 days, dealing with an outbreak of nodular dermatosis lumpy skin disease in cows with disagreements and protests over how to handle the fallout, whether through vaccination or culling.

Calls for tougher regulations

TheEU-Mercosur agreementwould create the world's biggest free-trade area and help the EU to export more vehicles, machinery, wines and spirits to Latin America, at a time of global trade tensions.

But farmers say it would also facilitate the entry into Europe of beef, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans produced by their less regulated South American counterparts.

EU plans to seal the agreement by the end of this week were thrown into disarray on Wednesday after Italy joined fellow heavyweight France in seeking a delay.

Paris and Rome are calling for more robust safeguard clauses, tighter import controls and more stringent standards for Mercosur producers.

The European Commission has proposed some measures of that type, but Hugues Falys of Belgian union Fugea said farmers had "little confidence" in them.

(with newswires)

Originally published on RFI