A protest by supporters of jailed French anti-globalisation activist Jose Bove has disrupted the world’s premier cycling race. Demonstrators sat down in the middle of the road during the 10th stage of the Tour de France, about 70km (43 miles) away from the city of Marseille. The peloton, or main pack of riders, was forced to halt for two minutes before police dragged the protesters away. Mr Bove, a prominent critic of trade liberalisation and mass-produced food, is currently serving two separate prison terms for destroying genetically-modified crops of maize and rice in the late 1990s. He also leads a militant group of farmers called the Confederation Paysanne, which champions smaller producers, and is considered by many in France to be a hero for his stand against big business. Tour officials ruled that the protest was “a normal race incident,” meaning that riders would have to suffer the penalties of being caught in the protest. Full Story
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