French cattle farmers protest Bigard price cuts as calf exports decline
Around 1,500 cattle farmers demonstrated outside 15 Bigard slaughterhouses over livestock price cuts since April. Traders cite weaker exports to Italy and Spain, while producers point to falling cattle numbers, disease-related losses and rising farm costs.
Farmers mobilise at 15 Bigard sites
About 1,500 cattle farmers demonstrated on Tuesday outside 15 slaughterhouses operated by Bigard, France’s leading beef industry group, according to Le Dauphiné. The protests were organised by the National Bovine Federation, or FNB, together with the FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs networks.
The action targeted what producers describe as a sharp and unjustified fall in cattle prices since April. FNB president Patrick Bénézit said the reduction could reach €600 per head for young calves and broutards, or weaned cattle intended for further fattening. The affected animals include those sent directly to slaughter and those exported for fattening.
Traders point to shrinking export outlets
The French Federation of Livestock Traders, or FFCB, said the decline reflected market conditions rather than an arbitrary pricing decision. It reported that French broutard exports since the beginning of the year were down 10.1% to Italy and 9.6% to Spain compared with 2025. Both countries are important destinations for French cattle destined for finishing.
According to the FFCB, buyers seek alternative suppliers, including origins outside the European Union, when French prices remain above those of competing sources. The federation also cited a strong contraction in domestic consumption during recent months as an additional source of pressure. Its argument places the price decline within a broader loss of demand in both export and French sales channels.
Producers dispute the demand explanation
Bénézit rejected that assessment, arguing that reduced availability must also be considered. Because of the decline in France’s breeding-cow population and bluetongue disease, the livestock institute estimates that 100,000 male calves will not reach the market this autumn. The FNB president also said domestic consumption had declined by only 0.6%, challenging the traders’ description of a sharp contraction.
Farmers say lower livestock prices are increasingly difficult to absorb because farm operating expenses have risen and drought has reduced forage availability. These pressures raise the cost of maintaining and feeding cattle even as the amount received for each animal falls. The disagreement therefore concerns not only current demand, but also whether prices adequately reflect tightening future supply and producers’ higher costs.
Further herd contraction is a key risk
The FNB warned that continued price weakness could accelerate decapitalisation, the long-running reduction in the number of cows kept in France. A further decline in the breeding herd would constrain future calf supply and could reduce the volume available to slaughterhouses, livestock traders and foreign fatteners. For Bigard and other processors, sustained contraction would eventually mean greater competition for fewer domestic animals.
Bénézit described Tuesday’s demonstrations as a warning and said demands would become significantly tougher if prices failed to recover. The protests do not resolve the competing assessments of the market: traders emphasise weaker outlets and international price competition, while farmers emphasise limited supply, disease effects and production costs. The next movement in cattle prices will determine whether the dispute remains a commercial negotiation or develops into broader action across France’s beef sector.
