Cows Lead Beef Price Protest Through the Streets of Paris

PARIS —  Five cows lumbering reluctantly through the streets of Paris on Thursday led a march by thousands of cattle ranchers, breeders and butchers protesting falling beef prices in France.

Snarling heavy traffic near the Arch of Triumph, the Charolais beef cattle were coaxed, prodded and pulled by ropes from the Place de L’Etoile to a site near Napoleon’s tomb.

At one point, the cattle and marchers approached a church where a funeral had just concluded, sending black-clad funeral directors scurrying to clear traffic for the hearse.

Police said 3,000 demonstrators who arrived in buses from across France participated in the march, including breeders and people in related professions, such as butchers.