Le Figaro Lyon
Around a hundred hives took up residence this Monday on Place Bellecour at the foot of the Ferris wheel.
The smell of smokers has replaced that of the attraction's sweets.
Beekeepers from the Rhône and neighboring departments demonstrated this morning against unfair competition from foreign honeys and the government's suspension of the Ecophyto plan for a few weeks following the farmers' movement.
French beekeeping “is going to suicide”
The demonstrators, in beekeeper's blouses, pointed out the lack of reaction from the State to protect their activity in the face of foreign honey
"sold below 2 euros per kilo compared to between 10 and 14 euros"
for theirs, deplored to du
Figaro
Philippe and Marc, beekeepers in the Lyonnais mountains.
For the two members of the UNAF union (National Union of French Beekeeping),
“this situation will lead French beekeeping to suicide”
.
Smokers and hives took up residence at Place Bellecour this Monday morning during the beekeepers' demonstration.
JB/Le Figaro
Marie, a member of the FFAP (French Federation of Professional Beekeepers), is asking for a
“floor price”
so that the French sector
“can make a decent living from its profession”
.
“We pay charges, respect standards.
We are also facing rising living costs but we cannot compete with the prices charged abroad
,” she continues.
With other beekeepers, they went Monday morning to a Super U store near Place Bellecour to see the honey sold by the brand.
Result:
“Not a single French honey”
, laments Marie.
And Marc adds:
“In France, 60% of the honeys sold are non-compliant”
.
Also read: Among the most adulterated products in the world, honey will be better protected by the EU
Pausing of the Ecophyto plan criticized
Beyond the competition from low-priced honey, beekeepers also point to the temporary cessation of the Ecophyto plan announced by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in the wake of farmers' demonstrations last week.
“This is a real setback for our entire sector which has been fighting for 25 years against these pesticides which harm biodiversity, and therefore bees.
In the end, it weakens all cultures
,” denounces Marc.
This plan, which aims to drastically reduce the use of pesticides in French agriculture, has been suspended until the agricultural show which begins on February 24.
“It was not said that we were stopping the Ecophyto plan (…).
The reduction in pesticides is a trajectory on which we will not return
,” assured Christophe Béchu, the Minister of Ecological Transition.
The Rhône department has more than 1,500 beekeepers, while Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is the leading beekeeping region in France.