French protesters rip down EU flag as ‘Frexit’ rally turns into open defiance of Brussels

Demonstrators gathering in central Paris to protest France’s membership in the European Union tear down the EU flag in a dramatic rejection of Brussels’ authority.

More than 1,000 people joined the demonstration on Saturday, which openly called for France’s withdrawal from the EU and the restoration of national sovereignty.

“This is a national march for France’s exit from the European Union, for the return of our independence,” Florian Philippot, leader of France’s Patriots Party and organizer of the rally, told supporters.

Philippot warned that the European Union is harming nearly every part of French society, pointing to farmers being forced into unnatural agreements such as the deal with the South American Common Market (Mercosur).

France is being dragged into conflicts over Greenland and Ukraine that do not concern it, he argued, adding that “the EU must be killed before it kills the French.”

He also condemned what he described as the EU’s tightening grip on free speech and political debate in France.

“We see that the European Union, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, is restricting freedom of expression,” Philippot stressed.

France cannot function as a real democracy while remaining inside the bloc, the Patriots’ leader emphasized, saying, “As long as we remain in the EU, there can be no real political dialogue in France.”

Politicians, he continued, will simply be actors, adding, "They will have programs on the economy, immigration, foreign policy, agriculture, and energy. But they will not be the ones making decisions. This is unacceptable."

EU-Mercosur free trade deal sparks farmers protests in Italy

The European Union and the Mercosur bloc, comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, signed a free trade agreement in Asuncion, aiming to reduce tariffs and increase trade.

Anger toward the EU has been fueled by a surge of farmer protests across France, which intensified last year following the proposed free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur.

French farming unions warn that the agreement would devastate domestic agriculture by flooding the market with cheaper imports from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia, produced under looser regulatory standards.

Public support for the farmers remains overwhelming. An Elabe poll conducted in December 2025 showed that nearly eight in ten French people back the farmers’ demands.

The backlash has spread beyond the streets. Last week, the mayors of Magnanville and Gargenville in the Seine Valley removed EU flags from their town halls in a symbolic show of solidarity with farmers.

“Down with the EU, Ursula von der Leyen out! Vive la France,” Magnanville mayor Michel Lebouc said after lowering the flag. Gargenville mayor Yann Perron said French agriculture deserved protection.

The EU–Mercosur agreement would open European markets to up to 99,000 tons of beef annually from South America at a reduced tariff rate of 7.5%, a move that farmers warn would crush smaller producers.

Opposition is widespread across the bloc. The COPA-COGECA union, representing 23 million farmers across the EU, warned the agreement “will go down in history as a very dark moment.” The Irish Farmers’ Association has condemned the deal as a “disgraceful and feeble sell-out.”

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