PARIS – The French budget ministry and social-security authorities were asked by French Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll earlier today to hold back on the planned taxation of poultry farmers affected by the financial difficulties of chicken producer Doux SA, according to Bloomberg.

After meeting with representatives for Doux’s 4,000 workers last week, Le Foll met with a poultry-industry earlier today to discuss the situation. On June 1, Doux, which is Europe’s largest chicken producer, was placed under court administration by the court of Quimper in Brittany. According to International Trade Centre data, France is the European Union’s second-largest poultry exporter after the Netherlands.