French Senate Rejects EU-Canada Free-trade Agreement

France’s Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly voted against a free-trade agreement between the EU and Canada thanks to an unusual alliance in the upper house between left and right wing opponents of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Version 1: The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has been provisionally enforced since 2017, awaiting full ratification in all European Union member states.
Macron and his centrist parliamentary allies successfully secured approval for the deal in the National Assembly lower house in 2019 by a narrow margin. However, ratification requires support from the Senate upper house, where they are clearly outnumbered.
Following rare moments of tension in the upper house, senators voted 211 against and 44 in favor of the agreement, ultimately confirming its rejection of EU trade agreement with a second vote.
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There were initial concerns that opponents of the treaty would not have enough time for the confirmation vote, but they managed to push it through by speeding up the debate.
Despite being a setback for the government, which supports the treaty, the rejection does not automatically invalidate the agreement.
According to EU regulations, the rejection of EU trade agreement will only take effect if the government formally informs the EU, a step that Macron is unlikely to take.
The government has not disclosed its plan of action, but one possibility is to bring the treaty back to the National Assembly for a fresh round of discussions and voting.
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So far, seventeen EU member states have ratified the treaty, while the process is still ongoing in ten other countries.
France becomes the second country to reject the EU trade agreement ratification, following Cyprus. However, Cyprus has not informed the EU Commission of its rejection and continues to abide by the treaty until a new vote is held.