PARIS Hundreds of tractors blocked roads in northwestern France on Monday in a protest by livestock farmers against a squeeze in margins by retailers and food processors, prompting the farm minister to invite them to a meeting later this week.
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In early Fall 1990, mad French sheep farmers who demanded more money for their meat torched more than 200 imported sheep alive inside a transit truck.
The protests broke out on Sunday after the farmers hit the streets of the Normandy and Calvados regions and dumped earth and manure in front of local businesses, including a meat-processing plant they consider to be part of their problems.
“It’s one of the biggest mobilisations for several years”, said Sebastien Debieu, secretary general of farmers’ union FDSEA. They say that prices for their products are so low that they can’t even meet their costs.
But farmers say they have yet to benefit from the price hikes in supermarkets, triggering a wave of strikes across the country.
Mont Saint Michel – an island that’s one of the most-visited tourist sites in France – is one of the places that’s been cut off. At road blocks, protesters have reportedly used tractors, piles of manure and tires to cut off access to the two-lane road onto the island.
Mr Le Foll has called another meeting in Paris for this Thursday.
“If we want agriculture to continue to thrive and not just survive, then we have to support it”, said Hollande at the weekend adding that he understood the consumer is likely to opt for the cheapest meat on sale no matter where it came from.
France’s dairy, pork, and beef farmers have joined forces to berate the government for creating such low milk and meat prices that the industries have become unsustainable.
In an interview with France 2 TV, Hollande noted: “There is a very important agricultural crisis”.
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The French cattle, pork and milk sector is in crisis due to stagnating prices and falling exports, with about 10 percent of the country’s producers on the brink of bankruptcy, Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll said on Friday. “Beyond the issue of distribution and prices, I have asked that there should be an emergency plan for French livestock and dairy producers.’ He said the measures would be ‘structural” but gave no details.
