World's biggest Nutella factory resumes production after week-long protests

A strike at the world's biggest Nutella factory has ended after more than a week of protests by workers.

Production at the site in Normandy, northern France, was brought to a near-standstill following the dispute over pay and conditions.

The plant, in the village of Villers-Ecalles, normally makes 600,000 jars of the chocolate and hazelnut spread every day - a quarter of global production.

Union activists had barred trucks from entering or leaving the factory but Nutella's owner Ferrero said access was reopened overnight and "normal activity" had resumed.

Exact details of why the blockade had been halted were not clear, but the company praised the "positive outcome" that has allowed employees to resume their work "calmly".

A spokeswoman for the Workers' Force union said management had made "positive progress", adding that more negotiations would take place.

According to the union, 160 of the factory's 350 workers who took part in the walkout demanded a 4.5% salary increase, a one-time 900-euro (£800) bonus and better working conditions.

It was unclear whether their demands had been granted.

French workers frequently go on strike during salary negotiations, with the last one hitting the Villers-Ecalles factory in 2011.

There have also been previous protests over the use of palm oil in Nutella - with the oil's mass production linked to deforestation, habitat loss, climate change and animal cruelty.

The latest protests have come amid anger among many low-income French workers at pro-business policies by President Emmanuel Macron seen as favouring the rich - and that prompted the yellow vest protest movement.