Paris will not accept a proposed EU-Mercosur trade deal in its current form, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier said after Brussels talks with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday.

As European farmers protest against a renewed push to ratify the controversial free trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur South American trade bloc, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier has told EU chief Ursula von der Leyen that his government cannot and will not accept the deal,