The French cabinet has described proposals currently under discussion at the World Trade Organisation talks as unacceptable.
A French government spokesperson said measures to protect standards on indicating the geographical origin of products and to defend European industrial interests in the face of emerging countries were not sufficient.
IFA President Padraig Walshe has described the French cabinet decision as extremely significant.
He said the French economy is highly developed in services and industry and EU Commissioner Peter Mandelson's negotiations had produced no benefits.
Mr Walshe said Tánaiste Mary Coughlan was holding back on her defence of agriculture in the faint hope of gains in trade and services.
'The French Government decision has extinguished that hope and it is now time for the Irish Government to stand with our best allies and back the French position,' he said.
France is seeking to gather support from other European Union member states for its opposition to the current proposals.
FG seeks meeting
Fine Gael earlier called for an emergency meeting of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee to hear details of exactly what is being proposed at the World Trade Organisation talks.
The party's spokesperson on Agriculture, Deputy Michael Creed, said it now appears that agriculture is being sacrificed in order to broker an agreement.
Mr Creed called on Minister Brendan Smith to come before the committee to reassure farmers that their interests are not being sold out behind closed doors in Geneva.
The US exchanged hard words with China and India as the key WTO talks dragged into a second week, with countries trading blame for stuttering steps toward a world trade pact.
The US accused India and China of threatening to shatter a fragile deal reached by key parties in Geneva over the past week.
But India and China strongly disputed the accusation, saying that the large developed countries are the ones holding up the talks.
India’s Commerce Minister cited domestic subsidies as one of the main areas of dispute, and insisted that around 100 countries back India's position on proposals for special import tariff measures.
India is proposing a system that would allow certain countries (like itself) to raise their import tariffs to protect their poor farmers if imports surge over a certain level.
Ministers from about 35 key trading economies have been in Geneva for more than a week in an attempt to conclude the basis of a global trade pact.
However, optimism that emerged on Friday dimmed over the weekend as emerging economies held out for a better deal.
