Widespread drought and record-breaking heatwaves have forced France to relax some of its famously strict rules on cheese production, with authorities announcing on Wednesday special measures for abondance, beaufort and comté.
France's vast array of local cheeses are a source of national pride and authorities go to great lengths to protect traditional production methods and ensure authenticity.
To earn a coveted AOP "appellation d'origine protegée" (Protected Designation of Origin) label - and the right to give their cheese a particular protected name - producers must follow rigid rules on how the cheese is made, but also where their animals graze and what they eat.
Certain types of cheese can only be made with the milk of grass-fed cattle. But the summer's drought, which affected 95 percent of mainland France in July, has left normally rich pastures dry and bare.
In response, the government has said producers of abondance, beaufort and comté, hard cheeses made from the raw milk of cows grazing in the Alps and Jura mountains, can supplement the animals' diet with more fodder and grain brought in from elsewhere.
