Thibaud Hue (near Montélimar) 08:59, August 08, 2022
France is undergoing an endless heat wave.
If the temperatures gradually begin to drop, the damage is already very significant.
First on forests and homes with fires, but also and above all on agriculture.
The glaring lack of water is causing many crops to bend, such as olive trees.
Affected by the drought, the olive trees are desperately waiting for the rain.
Near Montélimar, Geneviève worries about her family olive groves.
With tears in her eyes, she contemplates a field of ruins, its olive trees burned by the heat wave, and an arid land: "I've never seen that in my entire career. A season like that, where it dries, where it doesn't there is no rain".
“If we can save a quarter, that would be great”
Beneath his fingers, the leaves crunch.
The harvest is likely to be very low.
"If we can save a quarter of it, that would be great. We are trying to hold on", confides Geneviève on Europe 1. Even the olives that grow will not be picked up, for lack of profitability.
"It's very expensive to pick up olives. You'll have to put nets that you take and then sink on all fours. And all that takes work," she explains.
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If it doesn't rain, all will be lost
The only solution to save the farm: water the trees.
But for the owner, it's out of the question.
"Water, you have to pay for it by the cubic meter. You would have to triple the selling price. How much do you want to pay for the oil? 50 euros for 75 centilitres?" She is indignant.
So, the last hope for Geneviève and her twelve hectares remains a heavy rain before August 15, otherwise all will be lost.