Page 11 - auatraveller

Angry French FRENCH farmers, furious over low milk and meat
farmers blockade
prices, French farmers blockaded access to Mont Saint-
tourist site for Michel, one of the country’s top tourist spots, for a
second day second day on Tuesday.

ARUBA TRAVELLER - Wednesday, July 22 2015 Dairy, beef and pork farmers in Europe’s leading ag-
ricultural power rolled out dozens of tractors to block
roads leading to the Normandy towns of Caen and
Evreux, as well as the world heritage site monastery at
Mont Saint-Michel on the north coast.

Tourists were forced to get out of buses and roll their
suitcases towards the monastery, which sits on an island
and attracts some three million visitors a year.
President Francois Hollande said an emergency plan
to help the farmers would be presented at his weekly
cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Retailers and food industry heads promised to raise
prices on meat and dairy after a meeting with farmers
last month. But farmers say they have yet to benefit
from the price hikes in supermarkets and are working
at a loss, triggering a wave of strikes across the country
that escalated into the protests this week.

“The situation of farmers and milk
producers is very difficult. That is why
I have called on distributors to take
responsibility. They must stick to their

commitments,”

said Hollande.

“Tomorrow (Wednesday) the cabinet will take deci-
sions. I have asked that on top of the distribution issue,
prices, there be an emergency plan for French farmers
and milk producers.”
Pig farmer Jean-Michel Juhel in Pledeliac in northwest-
ern France said he loved his job and his animals, but
was unable to meet production costs. “Many farmers
are suffering a great deal. We have never known a crisis
like this and we don’t see a solution.”

Juhel works 14 hours a day on his farm, but he loses
30 euros (US$33) on every pig he sells for meat. It has
been a long time since he paid himself a salary, and he
has nearly exhausted his savings to inject 60,000 euros
into his farm this year just to stay afloat.
He blames European policies for his woes, saying com-
petition notably with eastern European countries was
“crushing” French farmers.

Juhel also blames consumers who demand cheap food,
without concern for the effort that goes into keeping up
environmental and safety standards. “Maybe I can last
another year,” he said. “But my wife asks me:

‘What are we going to do if it
continues like this?’”

11INTERNATIONAL