France/Germany/EU - dairy protests

German, French farmers pour milk into Rhine

Article published on the 2009-09-19 Latest update 2009-09-19 14:26 TU

French milk producers pour milk in the River Rhine on the French-German border at Strasbourg
(Photo: Reuters)

Dairy farmers from France and Germany on Saturday met on Strasbourg's Pont de l'Europe to pour milk into the River Rhine as it divides the two countries. The symbolic act of unity was a protest against low milk prices.

There were 150 German farmers and 20 French at the demonstration on the bridge between the French city of Strasbourg, the seat of the European parliament, and the German city of Kehl.

German demonstrators, who had brought 70 tractors compared to France's ten, said their greater mobilisation was due to lower prices in their country - 20-22 euro cents a litre, they say, against 28 in France.

French farmers have been demanding action on falling prices for several months in a number of protests.

Only two churns of about 20 litres were tipped into the river, the maximum allowed by the authorities as a symbolic gesture. The contenst of another 30 milk lorries was emptied onto a field in Germany afterwards.