Rural France turned upside-down by farmers

The world has turned topsy-turvy, say angry French farmers, and here are the signs to prove it.

Motorists in rural France have recently been astonished to see thousands of road signs at entrances to towns and villages turned upside-down.

The name-bearing roadside plaques have been unscrewed, flipped, then meticulously screwed back on.

It's a campaign by farmers to draw attention to what they say is their increasingly precarious way of life.

Starting with a protest in the southern Tarn department in November, it has now spread all over the country.

"We were trying to think of a way of denouncing all the contradictory instructions we keep getting," said Philippe Bardy, head of the FNSEA farmers' union in the Tarn.

"Where we come from, if someone tells us to do one thing one day and then the opposite the next, we say we're walking on our heads. That's where the idea came from."

Farmers cite specific grievances such as the increasing cost of farm diesel, late payment of EU subsidies, burgeoning bureaucracy and competition from imports.

But Philippe Bardy adds: "There is no other profession that suffers such a mental load.

"On one side, the minister asks us to change our practices, to make them more ecological. On the other, he tells us to produce as much as possible so France can achieve food sovereignty.

"On one side, we're being told to do everything to raise the salaries we pay. On the other, we're told to lower our prices because of inflation."

The farmers' union says its campaign has helped secure a government climbdown on two taxes next year.

However, no attempts appear to have been made so far to restore the signs to their original state.