Emmanuel Macron present 12:30 p.m. to inaugurate the 57th Agricultural Fair

The 57th edition of the Salon International de l’Agriculture is held at Paris Porte de Versailles from Saturday February 22 to Sunday March 1, 2020.

An unmissable event for politicians during this period of municipal elections, it brings together every year all the players in the agricultural world of France and abroad to meet the several hundred thousand amateur and professional visitors. This year, the Loire Valley Chamber of Agriculture is supporting, with the support of the General Council, its breeders (hall 1) and agro-food companies (hall 3, products and flavors of France) on the show. For 9 days, more than 1,000 exhibitors from 27 different countries, nearly 4,000 breeds and 1,200 breeders will welcome the public; the General Agricultural Competition (CGA) will select and award the best wines and products of farm, craft or industrial origin among the 22,000 presented.

Created in 1870, the CGA is an event that endures, it has become the showcase for biodiversity in genetics (animals) and French gastronomy (French local products). It is divided into 3 categories and 5 sub-categories:

Animal competition (373 breeds, 2,700 animals represented in 8 categories (donkeys, cattle, canines, goats, horses, felines, sheep and pigs) and 1,440 breeders representing the best that French breeding produces in genetic matters)
Product and wine competition, a real springboard, a pledge of quality and benchmark for local products, dairy products and wines. It brings together 33 categories based on the know-how of producers and regional products (poultry, meat, foie gras, dairy products, olive products, walnut oils, beekeeping products, Espelette peppers, vanilla, chocolate, eaux-de- life, liqueur wines, pommeau, oysters, smoked trout, fruit juices, ciders and perry, beers, rums and punches, appetizers, cold meats, sausages to cook, jams and saffron). New this year: an experimental competition on thyme. A jury made up of professionals in the sector, producers, representatives of the mouth-watering trades, traders, distributors and informed consumers judges the products according to the following criteria: sensory characteristics and taste quality.
Regarding the Wine Competition, we find all the regions of France are represented (Alsace, Beaujolais, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Corsica, Jura, Languedoc-Roussillon, Loire Valley, Lorraine, Provence, Savoie, Sud-Ouest and Vallée du Rhône) in all price ranges. A jury made up of specialists (sommeliers, oenologists, traders, producers, brokers, etc.) and informed consumers test the samples offered (more than 16,000 each year); only 24.9% of the wines are medalists, the key to export success.
Contest of young professionals rewarding the best students of agricultural high schools including the best wine tasters and best animal pointers. There are 5 categories in this competition which is aimed at future players in the agro-food world (The Animal Judgment Competition by Young People (CJAJ) where the candidates must judge the animals according to 7 criteria (Body qualities, Bodybuilding, Musculature, Specific members, Aplombs, Paces, and General aspect of the animal); The National Trophy of Agricultural High Schools (TNLA) which allows to strengthen the partnership between education and professionals while giving a modern image of the cattle breeder profession; The Competition European Young Wine Professionals (CJPV) which highlights the wine tasting skills of future young professionals in the wine industry, raising awareness of the importance of tasting in the practice of their profession, while encouraging actions of professional training carried out in this field; The EQUI TRAIT Jeunes (ETJ) challenge organized for the first time in 2006 to discover show future professionals in the agricultural world all the modernity of the use of working equines; The Young Jurors of Prairies Fleuries Competition (CJJPF) which changes its name to become the Young Jurors of Agro-ecological Practices “Prairies & Parcours” Competition. It is divided into 2 levels: Secondary (Bac and Bac pro) and higher (BTS, IUT, BPREA), highlighting the technical and economic challenges of natural meadows and routes in livestock systems and territories and their contribution to the qualitative improvement of food and to agro-ecological balances.

This year, it’s « Idéale », a 6-year-old Charolaise who becomes the face of the Salon. She was “selected in her region (Auvergne / Rhône-Alpes) by the Chard Herd Book (the only national association in France, founded in 1864 by breeders and entirely dedicated to the selection scheme of the Charolais breed) to become head of poster 2020 and succeed “Imminence”, blue from the North of 5 years. Each year, the choice of muse cow varies between dairy breed and meat breed. Indeed, the cow is a true symbol of the peasant world; it was therefore fashionable to choose the animal as a mascot since 2011 to represent the “largest farm in France”

The other part of this inauguration day is the visit of the President of the Republic who came to meet the agricultural professionals the day after the CAP meeting in Brussels where he did not sign the budget reduction linked to Brexit , proposed by the European Union, which would lead to a reduction in aid for farmers.

During this slightly shorter visit than last year, the president had to deal with questions from farmers and visitors. All the themes were discussed, from retreats to Yellow Vests, through police violence and the banning of glyphosate through the RIC (referendum of Citizen initiative) and the concerns of the rural world which wonders about the revaluation of the retirement. The President judges that it is impossible for him to revalue the current pensions of farmers to 85% of the minimum wage. In addition, a little before the attempted intrusion of the Yellow Vest Eric Drouet exfiltrated then half in custody for “rebellion”, Emmanuel Macron had a lively exchange with a woman who claimed to be “GJ” and to whom he ended up agreeing to receive it.

After a lunch with the representatives of the interprofessions and an exchange with the wine growers, who request the establishment of a compensation fund because of the 25% taxes imposed by the United States on French wines following the Boeing / Airbus conflict . (Emmanuel Macron thinks that the request to the European Union can be set up in the spring), the Head of State resumed his visit before meeting Edouard Bergeon, the director of the film “In the name of the earth”, son and grandson of a farmer, whose father eventually committed suicide as a result of the difficulties he experienced.

The last hour of the visit was dedicated to the fishing industry and the difficulties to come with Great Britain after Brexit and the problem of territorial waters. The president left the room around 9 p.m.

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VERONIQUE YANG

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