Hundreds of French farmers took to the streets of Paris on Tuesday to protest the European Union-Mercosur trade agreement.

These protests come a week after the EU Commission unveiled detailed proposals to protect farmers from being undercut by imports from South America as it seeks to build support for this deal.

The deal between the EU and the five Mercosur countries — Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia — would progressively remove duties on almost all goods traded between the two blocs over the next 15 years.

If the deal is ratified by both blocs, the accord would create one of the world’s largest free trade zones, covering a market of 780 million people that represents nearly a quarter of global gross domestic product.

However, it has faced vehement opposition from Europe's agriculture sector.

Maxime Combes, the leader of the Stop-Mercosur group, said it is "the most contested agreement in history."

"It is possible that there will not be a majority to ratify this agreement within the European Parliament," he added.

The proposals unveiled would give farmers new mechanisms to complain and force the European Commission to investigate trade imbalances stemming from the deal.

A commission statement said that the proposal would increase protections so that in the “unlikely event of an unforeseen and harmful surge in imports from Mercosur or an undue decrease in prices for EU producers, swift and effective protections would kick into gear.”

The EU-Mercosur deal, which was agreed in December after nearly 25 years of negotiations, must be approved by the bloc's 27 member states, as well as the European Parliament.

Its critics in France, the Netherlands and other countries with big dairy and beef industries say the pact would subject local farmers to unfair competition and cause environmental damage.

AP Video by Oleg Cetinic