"There is no question of having a confrontation. If we can't act today, we'll come back another day."
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French police prevent GM crop destruction
Reuters, 09.01.01, 12:26 PM ET
(Adds reaction quotes paras 4, 12-13)
By Claude Canellas

SIGALENS, France, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Police in anti-riot gear prevented activists opposed to genetically modified (GM) crops from hacking down three fields of experimental maize on Saturday.

It was the first time French police have stopped GM crop sites being ransacked since protesters began a campaign in late June to rip up bio-engineered plants.

The police action came after Prime Minister Lionel Jospin publicly criticised the destruction of GM crop tests on Tuesday, describing the protests as illegal and urging activists to stop.

"When it's illegal, it's illegal. We said it nicely. They didn't understand, so now we're saying it less nicely," farm minister Jean Glavany told reporters on Saturday at a meeting of Jospin's Socialist party in the seaside resort of La Rochelle.

Some 100 activists from radical farmers' union Confederation Paysanne, anti-globalisation movement Attac and other groups arrived at a test site in Sigalens in southwest France, wielding sickles and scythes to chop down the maize plants.

But between 100 and 150 police carrying riot shields and truncheons waited at the field, which belongs to French biotechnology firm Biogemma. The protesters placed their tools on the ground in front of the police, but said they would be back.

"There is no question of having a confrontation. If we can't act today, we'll come back another day," one of the protest organisers said.

A similar police reception awaited the 100 or so activists who had planned to cut down two fields of maize near the village of Saint-Martin-la-Riviere, in west central France.

The maize was being grown by U.S. biotechnology giant Monsanto, which has been the target of several anti-GM protests this summer.

LEGAL ACTION URGED

Small squads of police were present at previous protests, but had not intervened while activists razed fields.

Confederation Paysanne, which has accused the government of underestimating the possibility of cross-pollination between genetically modified and natural crops, criticised the government's show of force.

"This shows the government has chosen force with no regard for consumer safety, which is  scandalous," said a spokesman for the farm union founded by globalisation foe Jose Bove.

French seed and plant industry groups said they regretted it had taken so long for the government to decide to protect the test crops. They urged the authorities to prosecute those responsible for prior crop destructions.

"The decision to make public forces intervene has finally been taken and we hope it will dissuade a small group of extremist foes," the groups said in a joint statement.

"We now expect authorities to keep their commitment and bring the appropriate legal proceedings, so as to respect the rule of law in our country," they added.

While GM crops are common in the United States, France and other European countries remain, highly reluctant to sanction new genetic technology in agriculture.

France nonetheless grows experimental GM crops on around 100 sites, all of which have been approved by the farm ministry.

On Monday, Biogemma said it would file a civil lawsuit following what it described as "intolerable" destruction of a GM maize crop at Cleon d'Andran, in southeastern France.

Copyright 2001, Reuters News Service.