Fruit and vegetable growers in France are disrupting the supply chain on a regular basis in order to protest against cheap imports from Spain and Italy.
The main corridor for road traffic from Spain, the A9, was blocked earlier this week when growers from the Gard and Pyrenees Orientales blocked traffic at the Gallargues toll gate. Five Spanish freight trucks carrying fruit were stopped by protesters, who emptied the fruit out on the road.
They also broke into a wholesaler’s warehouse in Nimes, and tipped stock onto the floor because they suspected that the goods were of Spanish origin.
Freight lorries carrying fruit from Spain were intercepted last month, with protesters tipping the cargo of peaches outside the Spanish consulate in Perpignan. Farmers unions took similar action at the end of July. Unions rarely specify the precise location and type of action, so that enforcement authorities cannot be fully prepared.