French farmer mows word 'HELP' in crop field to highlight France's agricultural crisis

French farmer spells out plea for help in fields with letter 42m high
French farmer spells out plea for help in fields with letter 42m high

A French farmer has mown the word "HELP" in giant letters into his wheat field, hoping to push presidential candidates to address the crisis in France's agricultural sector.

Jacques Fortin, who farms at Athée-sur-Cher, near Tours, Indre-et-Loire, said farmers were facing real hardship and had gone through four very difficult years with poor harvests – in 2015 he had barely covered his costs of production.

"Political leaders do not listen to us," the 63-year-old farmer, Jacques Fortin, 63, told AFP on Thursday. "They're deaf to our anger. I hope they're not blind and will read this message of despair."

In Europe's top agricultural power, the government has admitted that more than a tenth of France's 400,000 farms are in a "situation of extreme urgency".

Last year, half of French farmers earned less than 350 euros ($372) a month, far below the national poverty threshold of 800 euros.

Fortin fashioned his message in capital letters in his five-hectare (12-acre) wheatfield, with the bright green letters standing stark against the tan crops.

Speaking to local newspaper La Nouvelle République, he said he was living on €350 a month and that was “unjust when I work every day and much more than 35 hours a week. Today, farmers can’t take any more. Every day we hear of suicides and no one cares.”