The controversial trade pact lifts tariffs on nearly all goods and services between Canada and the EU, and has reportedly led to a rise of 15 per cent in EU exports to Canada.
Jordan Bardella, a French member of the Rassemblement National party in the European Parliament, told TV Channel France 2: “CETA is a disaster for the environment… it will have dramatic consequences for the environment and on the health of French people.”
The nationalist RN party, led by far-right veteran Marine Le Pen, has long been opposed to what it refers to as “rampant” globalisation and free trade.
Mr Bardella added: “CETA will directly threaten 500,000 jobs in the cattle industry, because we will be pitting our workers and breeders against Canadian producers worth 30 to 40 per cent less.”
The French MEP was referring to claims the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, will bring unfair competition to French farmers as Canada’s environmental legislation is less strict than in France.
The trade deal, which provisionally took effect from September 2017, removes tariffs on the majority of goods and services between Canada and Europe and has reportedly led to a rise of 15 per cent in EU exports to Canada.
France became the 14th EU country to approve CETA after lawmakers cast 266 votes in favour, 213 against and 74 abstentions. But the deal still needs to be approved by all 28 EU member states.
All leftist and far-right MPs voted against the agreement, with 69 members of Mr Macron’s centrist La République en Marche (LREM) alliance rebelling against their pro-CETA leader by either abstaining or voting against it.
Ahead of the vote, the country’s popular former environment minister Nicolas Hulot had urged parliament to reject the deal.
Mr Hulot, NGOs and green lawmakers argue that CETA undermines the bloc’s social and ecological regulations by importing products made under conditions that would not be allowed in Europe.
Before CETA, Canada’s controversial use of hormones had effectively blocked Canadian beef exports to the EU for more than 20 years.
But the Macron government has repeatedly insisted the treaty is beneficial for the country, dismissing fears about the impact on the farming sector and the environment and saying the deal includes safeguards and that Canadian imports have to meet strict EU rules.
“With CETA, we are sure that we will not import the kind of agriculture that we do not want,” Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume told France 2 earlier this week.
The Canadian government, for its part, said it was “pleased” the trade deal had been approved in France.
The French vote “is an important step towards ratification,” said Zara Rabinovitch, a spokesperson for Canada’s International Trade Minister Jim Carr.
“Our government will continue to work with all EU members to promote the benefits of this agreement,” she added.
The French Senate will vote on CETA in the autumn too but does not have the power to block it. The deal will be signed into law by Mr Macron at a later date.