While the mildness had returned to the north after the coldest April night recorded since 1947, the frost lingered in the southern half of the country overnight from Monday to Tuesday, according to Météo France.

The lowest temperatures were recorded in the Hautes-Alpes, where they fell to -10.8 degrees Celsius.

The mercury also fell particularly in Formiguères in the Pyrénées-Orientales (-10.4 degrees) or in Apt in the Vaucluse (-5.3 degrees).

The frost affected less than half of the territory, according to Jérôme Lecou, ​​forecaster at Météo France, while 90% of France was affected by frost the previous night, worrying arboriculturists in particular.

The Agen prune sector is taking "a new hard blow", with damage "generalized over the entire IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) area" which "seems comparable or even greater than last year", according to a press release from the National Prune Interprofessional Office.

The buds of young apple trees were protected by a water spray system to deal with frost, in Tarn-et-Garonne, April 4, 2022 Valentine CHAPUIS AFP

“While it is still too early to finely assess the losses, it is estimated that nearly 70% of the harvest is already compromised”, estimates the sector, recalling that in 2021, marketing had been able to be maintained “ because of the stocks allowing to partly compensate for the loss of harvest".

In 2022, "the disruption of supply is almost certain" and it is "the entire sector from upstream to downstream which is again seriously impacted by an episode which should only happen once every 30+", but tends to be repeated more often due to climate change.

"Concrete announcements" expected

The president of the Lot-et-Garonne Chamber of Agriculture, Serge Bousquet-Cassagne, is even more pessimistic: last year, "We lost 70% of the harvest, this year we will be at 80-90%" for plums and prunes.

Candles were lit in the vineyards to fight against frost, in Saint-Emilion, in the Gironde department, on April 4, 2022 Philippe LOPEZ AFP

According to him, the kiwis, whose buds were protected by a water sprinkling system when the frost arrived, were also affected with less damage.

"But the cost of watering is staggering with the current price of energy which has increased by 60%, I am for 200 liters of diesel every night", testified Jean-Marc Poigt, who chairs Kiwi of Adour (400 Label Rouge producers).

In the Tarn-et-Garonne, where Jean Castex and the Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie will go in the afternoon, the three nights of negative temperatures have done great damage.

"Regarding stone fruits, it is certainly worse than last year. We will be around 80% of losses linked to frost", estimates Alain Iches, president of the chamber of agriculture of the department, stressing that these figures are still to be refined.

Hazelnut trees and apple trees, to a lesser extent, also suffered from the cold, says Mr. Iches, who is awaiting "concrete announcements on frost protection measures" from the Prime Minister.

"Undeniably, the productions which have suffered the most are (...) stone fruits", in the south, but also locally in the north, estimated Christiane Lambert, president of the majority agricultural union FNSEA on BFMTV, citing "the famous apple trees of Normandy".

The buds of certain trees were protected from frost by a water spray system in Montauban, April 4, 2022 Valentine CHAPUIS AFP

The cold spell now seems almost over, however, and Météo France has forecast "very rare frosts" overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday.

The time comes for the balance sheets, which will have to be refined as the mild weather improves.

In the Bordeaux vineyard, the president of the Bordeaux Wine Interprofessional Council Bernard Farges, "fears an impact of the level of 2021", while considering that "the least advanced vines have been spared".

Last year, after an exceptional episode of frost in April, the harvests of apricots, cherries and pears had been cut by half compared to the average of the previous five years, according to the statistical service of the Ministry of Agriculture. .

Wine production had also fallen to a "historically low level": -19% over one year and -14% compared to the average of the last five years.

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© 2022 AFP