SHARE
COPY LINK

FARMING

Drought hit farmers to cost a billion

France will have to pay a billion euros in aid to farmers hit by a drought in parts of the country, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Thursday.

“We now have to implement direct national support for the farmers,” Fillon told the Senate. “It is nearly a billion euros that the nation will have to commit to our farmers.”

Limits on water use are in place in more than half of France’s administrative departments after weeks of warm weather.

A national disaster fund for farmers has been set up and has already made available 200 million euros for “the most urgent cases” but this sum is likely to be “largely exceeded,” Fillon said.

The one-billion-euro estimate “is not a very exact one because it depends on the requests of the farmers,” he added.

President Nicolas Sarkozy earlier Thursday unveiled a plan to help the farmers, offering them relief on tax and loan repayments.

He stressed the government would avoid giving the kind of direct state subsidies that would break European Union rules.

PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

SHOW COMMENTS