I didn’t want to let it go by without comment. It’s received very, very little comment in the American Blogosphere but last week the Salon d’Agriculture, a farming exhibition analogous to a nation-wide state or county fair took place outside Paris at the Porte de Versailles. The Salon is a ten day long celebration of the French countryside, the diversity of French agricultural products, and (most important to me) the political influence of French farmers. The official site of the Salon d’Agriculture is here. For a loving description of the fair see here.
There are fewer French farmers today than ever before but they wield enormous political influence. The upper house of the French legislature, their Senate, provides representation to rural communities disproportionate to their population and, consequently, political power. This is not lost on the French politicians seeking France’s presidency and they visit the Salon with much fanfare to bolster their credentials as supporters of French agriculture.
