Paris (AFP)
For sales of lily of the valley on May 1, the street sale will be "completely prohibited" while the florists will not open, announced Tuesday the Minister of Agriculture Didier Guillaume.
"We are not going to do anything, street sales will be completely prohibited, florists will not open because the stores will be closed," said Guillaume on Europe 1.
On the other hand, "we can find thrush in all the stores that are open" in the context of containment because they are deemed essential, he detailed, taking the example of bakeries.
The sale of lily of the valley on the street by individuals on May 1 usually constitutes a "tolerance" framed by municipal decrees, on small quantities, without obstructing the movement of pedestrians and without installing trestles for example.
The minister nevertheless launched "a call for 100% of French lily of the valley to be sold for the week of May 1". "Lily of the valley is symbolic", he added, "but it is also a little moment of happiness, a little ray of sunshine in this confinement which is not always simple".
Didier Guillaume had already launched a similar call to allow French farmers to sell their lamb stocks at Easter. "Many responded and 100% of the French lamb was sold for Easter," said the minister.
For him, this new call is a way of "responding" to the concerns of the horticultural sector, "one of the most affected" by the crisis. "This is the reason why I asked, there again, that there be a special plan which is set up at European level", affirmed Didier Guillaume.
The Nantes market gardeners' federation, which brings together producers based on the outskirts of Nantes, where more than 80% of the lily of the valley sold in France grows, estimates that more than 70% of the 60 million sprigs of lily of the valley usually sold will be lost this year.
Thrush represents between 20 and 30 million euros in turnover per year, according to the federation.
© 2020 AFP