French Butchers Call on Government for Protection From Violent Vegans

A picture taken on December 12, 2014 shows a butcher looking at raw meat displayed at the Rungis international market in Rungis outside Paris. Eliot Blondet/AFP/Getty Images

French butchers have urged the government to protect them against violence and intimidation from extreme vegan campaigners.

The French federation of butchers and caterers, which represents 18,000 butchers across the country, said that in recent months several shops across France have been sprayed with fake blood and vandalized.