Pierrelatte (France) (AFP)

A pioneer in frog breeding in France, Patrice François provides numerous tables, from 3 stars to bistros, but despite the 100,000 batrachians on his Drôme farm, restaurant owners are still hungry for fresh "made in France" legs.

There are only a handful of farms in France.

"Raniculture, it's hard!", Explains to AFP the boss of François Production, in the middle of dozens of ponds teeming with frogs installed under 2,500 m2 of greenhouses in a tropical swelter.

In the background, the croaking of males, "deafening in spring, high mating season!"

Rare daredevils have since followed his example in Normandy, in Puy-de-Dôme or Ain.

"99% of the frogs consumed in France come from Eastern countries or Turkey for the fresh, Asia for the frozen", he explains.

Well deserving of their nickname of "Froggies", eaters (thighs) of frogs, the French devour some 4,000 tonnes each year, according to the Food Safety Agency (Anses, 2017).

They have been protected species since 2007. Commercial harvesting in the wild is prohibited.

Among the recent catches of Mr. François, Bocuse, the prestigious starred restaurant in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, near Lyon, which has included them in its autumn tasting menu.

"It was they who contacted me, a great recognition", proudly emphasizes the breeder.

Chef Gilles Reinhardt, who has worked for Bocuse for 22 years, is delighted: “Previously, for lack of other solutions, we sourced from abroad. But these ultra-fresh French frogs have nothing to do with them. customers love them! ", he told AFP.

"The flesh is much more delicate, the frogs more fleshy, firmer, with chewiness while remaining tender," he describes.

"François Production delivers 200 pieces to us twice a week, or 400 thighs", explains the chef.

"We sell everything, despite the context of Covid and the virtual absence of foreign customers".

"We also supply, for example, the starred restaurant of Georges Blanc in Bresse", indicates Mr. François.

- Cannibals -

At each stage, its "pools": reproduction, incubation of eggs, tadpoles of 1.5 grams, metamorphosis, frogs, enlargement and after about a year, adults of 50 to 100 grams which will end up on our plates.

"We control the entire chain, says the reanicultor, from reproduction to slaughter, after cold anesthesia, butchering and shipping."

"Our objective is to have the most homogeneous pools possible to avoid cannibalism, the bigger ones eating the smaller ones".

For reproduction, "a lot of factors come into play, such as the moon or the weather".

In addition, they stress easily.

Gregarious, frogs also stick to each other and can suffocate.

The farm also sells fresh thighs to individuals.

Here, we breed green frogs (Pelophylax ridibunda), from the "domesticated" strain Rivan 92, obtained in 1992 thanks to the work of André Neveu from INRA in Rennes.

This selected strain is able to feed on inert elements, in this case pellets for trout.

A sine qua non for breeding.

"Wild frogs eat living prey, insects, anything that moves," notes the 56-year-old breeder.

"INRA remains the holder of the strain. I am a licensee and cannot release them or sell them alive."

Mating in breeding ponds takes place from December to August, with a peak in spring.

The male covers the female to stimulate spawning.

When she expels strings of 1,000 to 1,500 eggs, he releases his semen to fertilize them.

The success of this external fertilization is variable ... "from 0% to 100%!", Smiles the breeder.

"With us, out of a million eggs, 100,000 will become frogs, or 10%".

"In the wild, only two in 1,000 survive, victims of predators and cannibalism."

Emblem of French gastronomy, this amphibious batrachian is traditionally consumed in the regions of ponds and marshes.

But frog eaters are found far beyond.

© 2020 AFP