French farmers protest over milk prices. (National: France).(Brief Article)

French dairy farmers obstructed milk lorries on farms and at dairy entrances across the country on January 9 in a demonstration planned by the militant farmers' union Confederation Paysanne to protest against the "unjustified" fall in milk prices.

The union is calling for the organisation of regional panels to discuss prices paid to producers. These groups would involve all the players in the industry -- producers, processors and distributors -- under the supervision of the regional authorities.

The union denounced the move towards a "pseudo world price" for milk, and blamed decisions taken under the Agenda 2000 programme in Berlin in 1999 for the drop in …