France Seeks to Delay Mercosur Accord, Risking Deal’s Collapse

France is pushing to delay the conclusion of a free-trade agreement between the European Union and some of the largest South American economies in a move that could derail the deal.

The French government wants to postpone until at least early next year the signing of the agreement with the Mercosur bloc, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, according to people familiar with discussions. The agreement was expected to be signed Dec. 20.

Failure to sign the accord by the end of the year — which has been in the works for 25 years — risks collapsing ...