Photo: AFPAFP · 23 Sep 2016, 07:58Published: 23 Sep 2016 07:58 GMT+02:00French employers on Thursday urged efforts be redoubled to keep alive a contested massive free trade deal between the EU and the United States. European trade ministers will Friday try to salvage the mooted accord, just days after large-scale public protests, notably in Germany. French Trade Minister Matthias Fekl has also urged the EU to walk away from negotiations on the planned pact. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) would create the world's biggest market of 850 million consumers, stretching from Hawaii to Lithuania -- if politicians can drag it over the line. "French firms call for negotiations between the European Union and the United States to be pursued, without naivety," said a joint statement from France's largest employers' federation Medef, the GFI industrial federations' group and textiles association, UIT.

Source: The Local September 22, 2016 18:00 UTC