French Farmers Protest

French farmers protested in Paris a week ago with a huge tractorcade that blocked traffic. One official might have liked it because he got caught up in it while being taken to court for embezzling money.

"Thousands of French grain farmers took on Pairs streets on Tuesday to protest the lower grain price and demand governmental support on European agriculture regulation, which has delayed much traffic at major entry points to Paris. Around noon, near 500 persons, including farmers and their supporters, are gathering at Nation, in the east of Paris, Xinhua reporter observed.

According to a leading farmers union FNSEA, between 9,500 and 10,200 framers were expected to participate the national protest in Paris, with a goal to press French government for favorable agriculture policies.Farmers union also estimated that close to 1,500 tractors were out on the road in the demonstration, which started in the morning from the east of the capital before heading west towards and then the north.Paris policemen have blocked routes of the whole-day demonstration.

French media also predicted that much traffic in Paris and nearby region will be delayed throughout the day.Following the economic crisis, French farming sector endured a revenue fall by 30 percent in 2009. For French cereal farmers, their average income has decreased by 51 percent as cereal prices are down by 24 percent, local media reported. A few months before, a group of French dairy farmers also went on Paris street protesting against the decrease of prices of dairy product.

Almost 400 farmer suicides were recorded last year, according to researchers at the Institut National de Santé. Nine suicides have been reported in the Basse-Normandie region alone in the first three months of 2010. "

Is this what we are headed for? The socialistic model in Europe has seemed to work no better than the American model and many think not as well.

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Ed Winkle