Angry French farmers sow Chinese-owned field in investor protest

Mounted on tractors and wielding flares, angry farmers came from all corners of France to say to Chinese investors: get off our land.

More than 100 farmers swarmed on a Chinese-owned field in the Indre region of central France yesterday, occupying it in protest at what they say is financial speculation.

Waving the flag of France's Farmers' Confederation, they filled a seed drill with rye and sprayed grain in a demonstration they said symbolised the need to "take back the land for the farmers".

"The land is there to provide for farmers' families and to produce food," said Laurent Pinatel, spokesman for the Farmers' Confederation.

"The owners have come here to make a profit, to speculate on agriculture while monopolising the land."
"In the agricultural colleges loads of young people in rural areas want to return to the land. But they can't find any, or it's much too expensive, because consortiums have driven up the prices."