MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Thierry Mariani, currently in Russia with a group of other French parliament members, said that EU sanctions on Moscow over an alleged role in the Ukraine crisis is the result of an absurd decision that hurts both French and Russian food producers.
"They underscore the absurdity of sanction policy that was a US initiative," Mariani told reporters in Moscow.
Protests by French farmers across the country have turned violent in the past few days, with protesters setting up blockades on highways and dumping manure in the streets.
"This crisis was caused in part by our split with Russia… Sanctions hurt Russian interests, but the interests of French producers have been hurt no less," he stated.
The French government estimates that roughly 10 percent of French farmers could go bankrupt after suffering from slumping oil and dairy prices coupled with decreased meat consumption and dropping exports to China, in addition to Russia’s food ban.
