French farmers protest low prices

In late July 2026, cattle farmers in Normandy and Bourgogne‑Franche‑Comté blocked two Bigard‑owned slaughterhouses, demanding higher prices for livestock to cover production costs. The action was part of a nationwide campaign targeting the Bigard group over sharply falling slaughterhouse payment rates.

A week later, dairy producers in the Haute‑Marne region joined the unrest, protesting low milk prices exacerbated by a severe drought that cut forage yields. They highlighted a farmgate price below production cost and warned of farm decapitalisation. Simultaneously, sheep‑milk makers in the Roquefort basin objected to a proposed price cut by Lactalis, citing low earnings and rising input costs linked to broader geopolitical tensions. Both groups called for price increases and support to sustain French farms, showing an expanding wave of agricultural price protests across livestock sectors.

The two episodes illustrate a widening crisis for French livestock farmers, who are confronting declining product prices, rising production expenses, and external pressures such as drought and market dynamics, prompting coordinated protests in different regions and commodity chains.