21/03/2024 (Agence Europe) – After several hours of heated debate, the French Senate rejected, on Thursday 21 March (211 votes against and 44 in favour), the article that would have finalised ratification of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada for France. The Senate has dealt “a very bad blow to our friendship with Canada”, Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, told the senators. The National Assembly, for its part, had given the go-ahead for ratification in 2019. With this rejection, the definitive entry into force of the CETA becomes even more uncertain. Provisional application has already been running since 2017, and ten countries have still not completed their ratification. On the same day, the strategic agreement with Canada received the support of the Senate. (LM)