FISHERMEN BLOCK FRENCH PORTS

French fishermen blocked traffic to Mediterranean ports, including Marseille yesterday, joining two-week-old protests against cheap fish imports.

Fishermen sailed trawlers across the entrances to the passenger port of Marseille, the oil port of Fos-sur-Mer and the fishing ports of Port-Saint-Louis and Port-de-Bouc.

Fishermen from Brittany, where the protests have been marred by violence, stopped trucks on highways to Paris to check if they were carrying imported fish early yesterday. French radio said they had dumped the cargoes of four trucks on the road.

The fishermen are pressing the government for more aid to offset low prices.

Prime Minister Edouard Balladur has granted two aid packages worth $75 million. The government also introduced import barriers.