By John Lichfield
Growing tensions in France between opponents and supporters of
genetically modified crops have led to violent confrontations.
Gendarmes used tear gas and batons to prevent pro-GM farmers from
invading a picnic for militant opponents of genetically modified maize at
the town of Verdun-sur-Garonne in south-west France over the weekend.

Hardly a day has gone by this summer without opponents of GM maize -
both environmental campaigners and small farmers - invading fields and
trampling or cutting down crops. The protesters, led by the small- farmers'
leader, José Bové, claim a citizens' right to destroy crops which, they say,
threaten ecological calamity and the subjection of farmers to the whims of
agro-industrial, multinational companies.

Tempers have risen to boiling point since the suicide earlier this
month of a farmer in the Lot département who had agreed to plant a small
section of GM maize. He took his life a few days after he had been warned
that anti-GM protesters planned to hold a picnic on his fields.

The largest French farmers' federation, the FNSEA, called for
Saturday's demonstration to protest against attacks on crops and alleged
government inaction. Gendarmes used tear gas to prevent the farmers from
crossing a bridge to the site of the anti-GM picnic, which was addressed by
the extravagantly moustachioed M. Bové.

"If Bové keeps on cutting down our crops, we're going to shave his
moustache," said one protester.

Michel Masson, head of the FNSEA in the central area of France, said:
"There has already been one death and I can tell you that many farmers,
rather than hang themselves from a tree, are now ready to take their rifles
off the wall."

The confrontation is partly between town and country. It is also a
confrontation between two different approaches to agriculture. The FNSEA
supports a "scientific" and highly productive approach to agriculture. M.
Bové and his supporters argue for a traditional, small-scale approach.

Successive governments have shied away from legislating clearly on GM
crops. Most types are banned but farmers have been allowed to plant,
experimentally, a variety of maize called MON810, developed by the US
company, Monsanto, which is said to be immune to insect attack.


[news.independent.co.uk]