President Emmanuel Macron believes that “
we must defend French meat everywhere
” and he “
calls on everyone to be responsible
” as France prepares to reopen its restaurants.
"
The French catering tables serve more than 60% of the meat that is not French
", noted Emmanuel Macron, on the occasion of a "
Great meeting of food sovereignty
" organized Tuesday by videoconference by the French Agriculture Council (CAF).
Read also: Professionals in the horse meat sector will be judged for "fraud"
This meat "
does not come from the end of the world
".
“
She's from Germany, she's from the Netherlands, etc.
These are choices of channels,
”said the president in a pre-recorded interview.
“
So, here too, we have to be consistent with ourselves.
Let's stop making minced, minced, minced meat, we need it in butcher shops, but let's also promote our breeders, our French-style cutting which is also an art, our butchers.
And in our restaurants, not just in school canteens, let's put French meat,
”said the Head of State.
"
When we are going to reopen restaurants, I call on everyone to be responsible
."
Pacifying the debate around meat
Emmanuel Macron also wants to "
pacify
" the debate on meat in the canteen in France.
In February, the decision of the ecological mayor of Lyon to temporarily offer in school canteens a single menu without meat, to more easily apply the health rules related to Covid-19, had aroused an outcry.
"
Now he has returned himself
" to multiple menus, noted the head of state.
“
In the canteen, you have to be able to eat everything and you need a menu that corresponds to what has been called the flexitarian diet.
And so yes, meat is part of the diet which is necessary to have the protein intake.
You don't need it all the time.
It should not be an excess.
Finally, we must not say either: it disappears.
And so, you need quality meat
, ”he said.
To read also: Meatless menu in the canteen: "A justified response, ill-adjusted shots"
Cafes, bars and restaurants will be able to reopen their terraces on May 19 everywhere in France, then their rooms on June 9, limiting themselves to half their capacity.
