Anger directed at Germany
Much of the anger in Brittany has been directed at Germany, who French meat-packing businesses accuse of unfair social dumping.
They say German competitors are employing Eastern European abattoir workers for just three or four euros an hour under the country’s “mini-job” regime.
In a letter to Hollande this week, the French Coordination Rurale farmers’ union, called on the president to “make EU countries, and Germany in particular, listen to reason,” in order to stop a practice they said was, “devastating and contrary to the vision of the founding EU fathers.”
Germany’s “mini-job" workers can earn up to 450 euros per month without paying taxes or having money withheld for pensions. In addition, their employers don’t have to contribute to the social security system on their behalf.
French farmers are not the only ones nursing a gripe with Germany.
In April, Belgium sent a letter to the European Commission complaining about the low wages in the German meat-packing firms.
France has yet to file a similar complaint to the EU Commission, but pressure is piling up on Hollande’s government to take further measures.
On Saturday, Breton fishermen joined farmers and truck drivers in a protest against the ecotax that blocked traffic in one of Brittany’s main highways.
“No to social dumping, yes to a European minimum wage,” many of them shouted.