Farmers block routes from Spain, Germany

French farmers blocked roads from Spain and Germany on Sunday to stop foreign products entering the country - the latest protest against a fall in food prices that has brought them to the brink of bankruptcy.

Farmers in the northeastern Alsace region used tractors to obstruct six routes from Germany in a bid to stop trucks crossing the Rhine carrying agricultural goods, in a blockage that was expected to last until at least Monday afternoon.

"We let the cars and everything that comes from France pass," said Franck Sander, president of the local branch of the powerful FDSEA union, adding that more than 1,000 agricultural workers were taking part in the roadblocks.