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Article: Column One: Fillet steak arrested by French secret police
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- October 20, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1999 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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THE ENTIRE apparatus of the French state fell like a ton of
bureaucratic bricks on a restaurant in Picardy yesterday morning. The
secret police were there; the gendarmerie were there; the consumer
fraud squad was there; the veterinary service was there; the customs
officers were there. Even the chief regional public prosecutor was
there - in person.
Between them, they seized 20 kilograms of contraband goods. Drugs?
Arms? Enriched uranium? Dirty books? No, something far more deadly.
Beef. British beef.
The fillet steak had been brought to France - in contravention of
the disputed French ban on British beef imports - by a group of
French farmers who feel that the British farmers' case is not ...