Farmers in oyster disease protest

Oyster producers from all over France demonstrated in Paris yesterday to draw attention to a mystery virus which threatens to wipe out a large part of their industry.

The agriculture minister, Bruno le Maire, agreed to hold an "oyster assizes" to discuss the implications of the disease, which has killed at least 60 per cent of baby oysters from the Mediterranean to Normandy over the last three years. More than 300 oyster farmers blocked two major roads in Paris yesterday in protest.