Covid-19: Emmanuel Macron in Brittany to support "la ferme France"

"Thank you for feeding the country!" Emmanuel Macron visited Wednesday, April 22, in a tomato greenhouse, then a supermarket in Finistère, in the west of France, to pay tribute to the whole chain of "la ferme France", symbol of the " second line "of the" war "against the coronavirus.

The head of state first surveyed the aisles of the vast tomato greenhouses of the Roué brothers' farm in Cléder. Arrived without a mask, he chatted with the operators and employees, at a good distance.

"Thank you to the farm France! It held out. We can be proud of it. I hope that our fellow citizens will be reconciled with this beautiful job which is that of feeding the nation", he said in allusion to "l 'agri-bashing' targeting part of the profession in recent months.

"Everyone played the game in a great way, with bosses and courageous employees who went to work. Sometimes they were afraid but they came, to continue to feed the country," he added.

Thank you to everyone who feeds us. Cultivating the land, organizing supply and distribution as close as possible to the needs, it is this chain of responsibilities and solidarity that allows us to hold on. #FranceUnie pic.twitter.com/worIpDCC1w

"A great sense of duty"

Emmanuel Macron then went to a Super U in Saint-Pol-de-Léon, greeting cashiers and employed in sparse departments. "You have a tremendous sense of duty," he told them. The head of state also described post-May 11 as "a second stage, which we do not know how long it will last, which will be progressive, concerted, sometimes slow, perhaps differentiated according to the sectors of activity or according to the regions more or less impacted ".

"I find it very good that he comes to greet the cashiers. These are ants that you can't see," said an employee. The cashiers were equipped with visors which they had received only the day before. To the employee of an Ehpad signaling to her the lack of masks in her establishment, Emmanuel Macron promised: "They are coming".

A visit that arouses criticism

A little earlier, he had assured journalists that France was going to produce "several million masks for the general public per week, with very high filtration capacity", approved by Afnor. He specified in passing that the State intended to support the revival of a mask factory located in Plaintel, in the Côtes d'Armor, which was awaiting a green light.

The arrival of the head of state has drawn criticism. The municipal services have erased some hostile tags near the Super U. The CGT and Sud / Solidaires unions criticized this move made in full confinement.

Since the start of the health crisis, the executive has insisted that France is preserved from scarcity thanks to the wealth of its agricultural and agrifood production, in "second line" in the "war" against the coronavirus. But almost half of the chicken, fruits and vegetables consumed in France are imported, which has revived the debate on food sovereignty

The confinement introduced on March 23 was extended on April 16 by at least three weeks. Despite mounting pressure, the government is not planning any easing for the moment, unlike other European countries.

With AFP

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