French protests

Modef, the Movement for the Defense of Family Farmers, is preparing for its annual jaunt to Paris to promote more respectful practices with regard to producers and consumers' wallets, according to La Depêche.

On 19 August, around 100 farmers, from Lot-et-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne, Landes, Charentes and the Rhone valley, are set to head to various Parisian towns, armed with two tractor trailers filled with 40 tonnes of fruit and vegetables.

Fresh produce will be sold direct to consumers at the Place de la Bastille to show that another economic way is possible.

Modef equally aims to pressure French president Nicolas Sarkozy into properly controlling retailers' margins so that producers can be justly remunerated and consumers can get a better price.

The group's other stated goal is to pressure the authorities to more tightly control imports of products during the French growing seasons, the biggest concerns being tomatoes from Spain, Morocco and eastern Europe, apples from Chile, and kiwifruit from New Zealand.