Head of French farmers union says protests could resume

PARIS (Reuters): The head of France’s biggest farming union – the FNSEA – said on Tuesday that protests that hit the sector last month could resume if the government does not do more to meet their demands for better pay and working conditions.

The government is in talks with farmers over getting them higher selling prices to supermarkets and over loosening regulation and bureaucracy which farmers have said was a burden on their businesses.

However, FNSEA head Arnaud Rousseau said that, with 10 days to go until the start of the annual national farming convention, the government was not doing enough.

“We are not moving at the right pace,” Rousseau told French TV station TF1.

Asked if farmers could restart the roadblocks that hit many motorways in January, Rousseau replied: “Very probably.”

Farmers across Europe – in countries such as Poland, Spain, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands – have demonstrated over the last month for more money and better working conditions.