FRENCH BUTCHERS have appealed for protection from militant vegans following a series of physical incidents and defamatory comments, which they believe are an attempt to shut down the country’s traditional meat-eating culture.

Over the last few months, butcher shops have been stoned, defaced with anti-meat graffiti and splashed with fake blood, according to the French Federation of Butchers, which has written to the French government to warn that such attacks are a form of terrorism.

Worryingly, these recent events have been linked with a reduction in meat sales, which is why industry groups have appealed to President Emmanuel Macron’s government to take action to avert potential harm to the future of the meat industry.

Chief of the French Federation of Butchers, Jean-François Guihard, wrote in the letter: "It is terror that these people are seeking to sow, in their aim of making a whole section of French culture disappear. Vegans want to impose on the immense majority of people their lifestyle, or even their ideology."

The rise in veganism has been well documented, with recent controversy in France around the passing of a meat labelling law designed to separate animal protein labelling from plant protein. No longer can products such as veggie 'sausages' or Quorn 'mince' be sold in the country and it has been suggested that this legislation could set the precedent for other countries Europe-wide to follow suit.

The move means food producers and retailers will face a €300,000 fine for attempting to market vegetarian foodstuffs under meat-related titles. Instead, they will have to be christened with a name that does not suggest they have any relation to meat products.

Although vegetarians and vegans make up only a small fraction of the French population – figures from a 2016 survey estimated only 3% were vegetarians – the growth in the movement's social media activism has been noted Europe-wide, leading to particular stress on farmers who are finding their social media accounts beset by negative comments.

French farmer and MP, Jean-Baptiste Moreau, has been very active in the fight to protect France’s famous meat industry and after the meat labelling law was passed in April he tweeted: “It is important to fight against false claims: our products must be designated correctly. Terms like cheese or steak will be reserved for products of animal origin.”

There is hope that the recent call for action to the government will be well received, following on from the success of the meat labelling law and another win for the meat industry when a proposal to require schools to introduce a weekly vegetarian meal was rejected in the French parliament.