"The detractors of foie gras are multiplying", according to 56 elected officials of Périgord who take the pen to defend "a gastronomic sector of excellence" in response to the choice of certain ecological town halls such as Strasbourg, Grenoble or Lyon to "ban" foie gras from the official receptions menu.
In a "manifesto" published on Monday, elected officials, including Jean-Pierre Cubertafon, Modem deputy for Dordogne, and the president of the Dordogne departmental council Germinal Peiro, urge the French to remain proud "our gastronomic identity and our products ".
"The political opportunism of a few must not endanger the whole of a sector of excellence, especially at such a decisive period for this sector", add the signatories.
Read also Foie gras, a dying party dish?
Going almost unnoticed in September 2020, the decision of the Lyon environmental majority to ban foie gras canapes has been reacting since it was greeted last Tuesday by the animal rights organization Peta.
Besides Lyon, other town halls like those of Strasbourg - since July 2020 - and Grenoble - since 2014 - have also banned foie gras from their ceremonies and events.
The socialist mayor of Villeurbanne took a similar step in May 2021.
"Distorted" vision of manufacturing
These decisions arouse "consternation" among these elected Perigord defenders of foie gras who accuse these mayors of relying "on an outdated and distorted vision" of the production of foie gras. "No offense to some, the vast majority of foie gras is nonetheless produced on French territory in ethical farms, small in size and respecting drastic quality standards", they maintain. "We strongly condemn the excesses of industrial breeding which leads to the production of foie gras of deplorable quality under atrocious conditions", they still write.
Asked Sunday on BFMTV, the mayor of Pau François Bayrou defended a sector of "excellence" by ensuring that "today's force-feeding has nothing to do with yesterday's force-feeding.
I can assure you today that this force-feeding is gentle.
It was not previously ”.