France: Oyster producers deplore a catastrophic situation

The temporary ban, for health reasons, on the marketing of oysters from certain sites on the West Coast is "catastrophic" for all producers because "people are no longer buying", declared this Sunday at the 'AFP Philippe Le Gal, president of the national shellfish farming federation. “It’s catastrophic, it’s general panic, when we are not even at 10% of contaminated areas in France” compared to the entire national production, reacted Philippe Le Gal. “People don’t buy anymore” The production areas whose marketing has been prohibited since the weekend by prefectural decision are located in particular in the Arcachon basin (Gironde) as well as in two very limited sectors of Calvados and La Manche. Taking his own example, Philippe Le Gal explained: “My oysters were on sale Sunday morning in four markets, one in the Lot, one in Corrèze and two in Morbihan” where he is based. “We didn’t sell anything at all,” he lamented, estimating sales made for a New Year’s Eve day at “barely 10%,” ...