Ceta: the Minister of Foreign Trade calls on right-wing senators to ratify the free trade text

The Minister of Foreign Trade, Franck Riester, said he was in favor of the free trade agreement with Canada, the famous Ceta, on Wednesday evening, at the microphone of Europe 1. In fact, this agreement which concerns products agricultural and industrial has already been applied provisionally for six years, but without ratification by Parliament. Senators must decide this Thursday, March 21, whether or not to definitively ratify this treaty.

An instrumental vote

The text on Ceta is now in the hands of senators. But the Republicans are preparing to vote against it, as are the Communists. Franck Riester called them to reason. “It is a bill for ratification of the agreement which was put on the agenda of the communist parliamentary niche and which clearly, a certain number of right-wing senators are going to vote, that is to say , they will vote with the communists,” he recalls.

The minister continues: “The communists are consistent with what they have always defended. Not the Republicans, not the right. Because obviously they have always defended trade as long as it is good for the country and market economy and international trade.

He says he does not understand this choice of the Republicans, who according to him are voting “against a good agreement”, signed with Canada, “a great friendly country”. Franck Riester therefore calls on right-wing senators “to change their position and vote for this text”, ensuring that they “want to exploit this agreement for electoral purposes”, in the middle of the European campaign. “I denounce all of this and I call on them to be wise, to the famous senatorial wisdom,” concludes Franck Riester.