Farmers block streets to press for BSE aid

LILLE, France -- French and Belgian farmers joined forces and blocked roads in northern France on Monday, to press the government for compensation over the mad cow disease crisis.

Around 50 tractors snarled traffic along the main Paris-Brussels motorway, while a slow-moving convoy of tractors converged on the road connecting the northern French city of Lille with the Belgian city of Ghent.

A dozen more frontier crossings were also targeted by the farmers, the regional traffic information office said.

This comes after Prime Minister Lionel Jospin promised farmers last week that the government would aid those hit by mad cow disease if European Union ministers refused to help them.

French farmers also staged mad cow demonstrations at a number of northern ports early Monday, including Cherbourg and St Malo, dumping piles of farm waste in front of government buildings.

"Public authorities must assume their responsibilities at a European level and not at a national level because otherwise there will be too many discrepancies from country to country," said Christian Consille, a leader of the FDSEA farming union.

"Today the farmers are showing they can block everything if need be," he said.

Members of the EU were to meet on Monday to decide on measures to tackle the mad cow disease crisis.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Suspected BSE case scrapped
February 26, 2001
Jospin pledges BSE compensation
February 22, 2001
BSE: Angry farmers launch cull protest
February 17, 2001
Europe slated for BSE reaction
February 1, 2001

FDSEA
Europa

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.