French farmers heckle Hollande at Paris farm expo

French farmers have heckled President Hollande during annual agricultural fair in the capital as they are facing the “worst crisis ever” in the European Union’s biggest agricultural economy.

Dozens of protestors from the main farmers union, FNSEA, booed and whistled as Hollande and Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll made their way through the Paris expo Porte de Versailles exhibition center on Saturday.

Angry livestock farmers tore down the stand belonging to the French agricultural minister. Police detained five members of the FNSEA, according to the union.

French farmers have been protesting throughout the country during the past months against plunging produce prices.

Hollande has said the crisis facing farmers is “exceptionally hard, exceptionally long [and] exceptionally generalized”.

“To come and exhibit in the context of so much difficulty and pain is a lovely act of patriotism. It is not compliments that farmers want but lasting policies,” he said.