Paris: The French city of Calais has been no stranger to public disorder in recent years, with recurrent battles between police and migrants or striking ferry workers making headlines worldwide.

Now its council says the port town is facing a bizarre new threat: an alliance of hunters and farmers seeking revenge on vegans bent on turning the largely carnivorous French off meat.

This burger is made from plant protein. It's the sort of development that's infuriating the French meat lobby. Credit:AP

The risk of trouble has led the council in Calais to cancel a vegan festival due to be held in the city centre on September 8. The move is the latest episode in a battle between vegan militants, and butchers and other providers of meat in the north of France.

Radical non-meat eaters have been on the offensive, vandalising several butchers' shops in the region and elsewhere in recent months, prompting the French federation of butchers to issue a plea for police protection.