French farmer protests target cities and tourist sites

French farmers have stepped up a long-running campaign against low pigmeat, beef and milk prices this week.

Protestors using tractors blockaded roads around Caen and Evreux, two of the largest cities in Normandy, on Monday and Tuesday.

The Mont-Saint-Michel abbey on the nearby coast, one of the most visited tourist sites in the area, was also made inaccessible several times this week. Preparations were underway for protests at the Breton port and seaside resort of Saint-Malo too.

Farmers also spread manure on outside retailers' stores and warehouses in protest at the low prices paid to producers.

The avarage French farmgate milk price in May was €302/tonne (29.3c/l), down 12.4% on the same time last year.

The average weighted price paid by beef factories is currently €3.76/kg, showing some signs of recovery in the past few weeks after a sharp fall at the end of last year. French pig farmers are currently getting €1.50/kg on average.

The French government is expected to announce a fresh round of emergency measures for livestock farmers at a cabinet meeting this Wednesday, having already spent €23m on exceptional grants and tax breaks since the beginning of the year. A review of commitments by processors and retailers to raise farmgate prices is also due this week.

"Farmers cannot make a living out of sole direct payments, they must get an income from prices," President François Hollande said on a visit to the Tour de France on Saturday. Marketing events surrounding the race have been disrupted by farmers' protests too.

"I am calling on retailers to provide consumers with quality and farmers with a price," Hollande added. "Supermarket have committed to raising prices so that producers benefit and we will make sure this is acted upon."

Agriculture Minister Stéphane Le Foll met farming representatives in Caen on Tuesday.Christiane Lambert, vice-president of the leading farmers union FNSEA, told national television that a growing number of farmers were going bankrupt. She added that despite an agreement with processors and retailers to increase pig prices by 5c/kg per week since June, only 7c/kg has been achieved so far.