JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Finally, in Southern France, a leader of a group of militant farmers is on trial for vandalizing a McDonald's restaurant. But to many there, he's a David fighting a global Goliath. CNN's Peter Humi reports.</s>PETER HUMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The star of what has become a media show is Jose Bove, a mustachioed local farmer who shot to fame following the ransacking of the McDonald's restaurant last August.</s>JOSE BOVE, FARMER AND ACTIVIST: We choose to</s>HUMI: True to form, Bove arrived at the courthouse of this small provincial town in southwest France on a cart pulled by a farm tractor, cheered on by hundreds of supporters. To many here, Bove has become a latter day asterix, a plucky French cartoon character who single-handedly took on the might of the Roman empire. For some in France, the empire today is represented by American and other multinationals who, critics say, are polluting French culture with the likes of the Big Mac. A recent poll shows the majority of French people have taken Bove to heart as the leading campaigner not just against globalization, but against what he has described as bad food. The McDonald's restaurant in Millau did eventually open and has attracted the town's youth. However, for the duration of the trial, the restaurant will remain closed for what local police say are reasons of law and order. Bove and nine other codefendants could face up to five years in prison or hefty fines. In truth, though, few expect any of them to spend any time behind bars. Peter Humi, CNN, Paris.
In Southern France, a Leader of a Group of Militant Farmers is On Trial for Vandalizing a McDonald's