The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has responded to the criticism made by the former socialist French minister Ségolène Royal of the Spanish organic tomato and all organic fruits and vegetables coming from Spain in the context of the protests by French farmers who are paralyzing communications in the neighboring country.
The head of the Spanish Executive, after describing the criticism as “unfounded”, considered that Royal “has not had the fortune of trying the Spanish tomato” and has invited her to come to Spain to “try any of the Spanish tomato varieties.” . “You will see that the Spanish tomato is unbeatable, it is unbeatable,” said the president in a press conference at the end of the European Council held this Thursday in Brussels.
The scene has been very memorable, due to the adjective used by Sánchez, in which he himself starred in July 2021 to settle another controversy, in this case within his own cabinet over some words from the then Minister of Consumption, Alberto Garzón, about the risks of excessive meat consumption. “Where they give me a steak to the point… that’s unbeatable,” the president then snapped.
In a statement on French television BFMTV, the former French Minister of Ecology said yesterday about organic products from Spain: “Have you tried tomatoes? They are inedible.” Likewise, Royal, ex-wife of former French president François Hollande, denounced that “Spanish fruits and vegetables do not respect French standards and should not be on the shelf.”
Royal’s statements have also been responded to by the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, who has assured that “European regulations are the same for all countries in the Union” so Spanish products “do not compete unfairly.” “I think that the French sometimes see unfair competition that does not exist in others but they do not see their own. Of course, the Government is not going to allow Spanish farmers to be accused of unfair competition, first because it is false,” he said. .
This same Thursday, the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno (PP-A), called the criticism “unacceptable” and stressed that “the Government of Spain is obliged to defend our countryside.” “This is unacceptable,” the president of the Board stated in his X account before adding that “first the strawberries and red fruits and now the tomatoes.” “Respect our farmers and transporters,” cried Juanma Moreno, who stressed that “the Government of Spain is obliged to defend our countryside.”
The President of the Murcian Government, Fernando López Miras, has also demanded “now” a “clear statement” from the Government “in defense of an essential sector for our country”, such as agriculture. López Miras made these statements in a message on his social networks in which he expressed his condemnation of Royal’s words. “This lady has not tasted a Spanish tomato in her life,” said the Murcian president. “Let’s go together wherever we need to fight for our field,” he concluded.
