Last week, producers in south-west France targeted the Saint Charles International market in Perpignan, dumping several tonnes of fruit at the entrance and blocking the passage of lorries carrying Spanish produce.
This week, the retailers have become the prime target of such protests. In Estagel, close to the border with Spain, producers yesterday dumped a load of peaches and nectarines outside a small store that sells Spanish produce.
One protester described the move to Midi Libre newspaper as a “foretaste of what retailers can expect in the next few days, whatever their name and whatever their size”.
The protesters are angry at the practice of retailers opting for cheaper Spanish produce, where manual labour is significantly cheaper, to the detriment of local growers. They say that the downturn in eastern Europe has led to a big increase in the volume of such fruit entering France.
Led by the FDSEA (Departmental Federation of Farmers’ Unions) and the Jeunes Agriculteurs union, a regional action plan is reportedly being drawn up which could see one retailer a day being blocked.
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