Vegetable farmers in a French town set fire to tax and insurance offices in protest against the falling living standards, prompting Prime Minister Manuel Valls to condemn them for preventing firefighters to fight the blaze, BBC reported Saturday.
The incident occurred in Morlaix town, in Brittany, a cultural region in north-west France. The farmers used tractors and trailers to dump artichokes, cauliflowers and manure on the streets and also smashed windows, police said.
The farmers say they cannot cope with falling prices for their products, as a Russian embargo on some Western goods - imposed over the Ukraine crisis - has blocked off one of their main export markets.
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About 100 farmers first launched an overnight attack on an insurance office outside Morlaix, a commune, which they set light to and completely destroyed, officials said.
Thereafter, they drove their tractors to the main tax office in the town where they dumped unsold artichokes and cauliflowers, smashed windows and then set the building on fire.
In a statement, Valls "vigorously" condemned the "looting and destruction by fire" of the buildings.
He said violence was not justified and the perpetrators would be prosecuted. "It is particularly shocking that firefighters were prevented from accomplishing their mission."
