A ‘fromage affray’ erupted at France’s premier farming show on Sunday night, resulting in 15 arrests after a violent dispute saw exhibitors and visitors turn heavy cheeseboards into improvised weapons.

The extraordinary violence at the world-famous Salon d’Agriculture mainly involved young men, with some wearing chefs’ aprons.

Police and paramilitary officers were among those injured during the brawling.

An officer at the scene said: ‘The fighting started at around 6.30pm, in Hall 4 of the salon

‘It seemed to between stall holders and visitors. Fifteen of those involved are in custody, and some are being treated for minor injuries. Police and gendarmes who tried to intervene were also heard.’

A video posted online and broadcast by BFM, the rolling TV news channel, shows a group fighting around a nougat stand.

Punches and kicks were exchanged, while others used the cooking implements to hit people around the head.

At one point, a blade used to cut nougat was held aloft, before being discarded.

A video posted online and broadcast by BFM, the rolling TV news channel, shows a group fighting around a nougat stand

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, is among those who regularly visit the Salon d’Agriculture. He is pictured visiting the opening of the International Agricultural Show (Salon De L’Agriculture) at Paris Expo Porte De Versailles in Paris

Vast showrooms exhibit the best French food and wine, along with more than 4,000 farm animals, tractors and other farming equipment. (pictured is Gabriel Attal, Secretary General of the Renaissance Party and President of the Ensemble pour la République – EPR group) 

Another visitor to the Salon said: ‘People were being very boisterous. It may be that they had been drinking all day – something that is very common at the Show.’

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, is among those who regularly visit the Salon d’Agriculture, which is held every year at an exhibition centre at Porte de Versailles, in the west of Paris.

Vast showrooms exhibit the best French food and wine, along with more than 4,000 farm animals, tractors and other farming equipment.

The idea is to transform the area into ‘the biggest farm in France’, according to organisers.

Around 600,000 people attend every year, and it typically hosts over 1,000 exhibitors 

French politicians see this event, which is broadcast all over the world, as a show, as they strive to impress voters in a traditionally agricultural nation.

Mr Macron holds the current record for the longest a president has spent at the Salon, enjoying a full 13-hour stretch in 2024.

He said he wanted to meet ‘anybody who wants to have an exchange of views’.

There have been years of protests by farmers angry about low earnings, increasing bureaucracy, the imposition of environmental regulations, and what they see as unfair competition from abroad.