France Suffers Worst Drought for 25 Years

More than half of France's 95 departments have introduced water rationing, the environment ministry said yesterday, as crops wither, cattle suffer and rivers run dry in the most serious drought to strike the country for 25 years.

"We are concerned not just for farmers but for France's flora and fauna," the environment minister, Roselyne Bachelot, said. "Drinking water is not at risk at present, but the continuing absence of rain is starting to have dramatic consequences across the country."

A weekend of light rainfall brought temporary relief to crop growers, many of whom are already predicting that harvests will be between 30% and 50% down on last year, but did nothing to ease the problems of livestock farmers whose animals have started eating into winter reserves of hay.

The first of 427 lorries carrying emergency supplies of animal fodder arrived in the particularly hard hit Aveyron department in the south yesterday, with the government footing the transport bill under a nationwide €30m rescue plan aimed at providing hay at cost price to tens of thousands of farmers.

"My herd needs supplementary fodder every other day," said Régis Rigal, a dairy farmer near Rodez. "There's nothing left in the fields for them to graze. The whole valley is yellow; it hasn't rained since February." Another farmer in the region, Jean Marty, complained that his milk yield was 20% down and he needed to spend €16,000 on extra hay: "We all face financial ruin," he said.

Central, south-western and eastern France are the areas worst affected, with some regions in the east reporting 60% less rainfall than normal. Major rivers, including the Garonne and the Loire, are several metres below their usual level and local authorities in the south-west have ordered hydro-electricity dams opened.

In the Côtes-du-Rhone, vineyards that only a month ago were predicting a bumper vintage have begun reporting that grapes are "burning" on the vine, while the vital Provence lavender harvest is likely to be 50% down, with a disastrous knock-on effect on industries as diverse as soap-makers and honey-producers. The drought is also likely to push next year's truffle prices up to €1,000 a kilo, experts warn.

Half a dozen central departments have issued warnings to holidaying motorists that sheep and cattle are forcing their way out of their fields in search of fresh food and water. Fishing has been banned in some areas to preserve stocks struggling to survive, and emergency regulations are in force in others banning smoking in forested areas.

As domestic users in many departments have been told to stop watering their lawns or washing their cars, Ms Bachelot suggested that the drought could be a sign of "extremely profound climactic change" caused by global warming.