seems like a huge thing that%26#39;s going on right now... has anyone been?
would it be interesting for a tourist to see? I%26#39;m not really interested in seeing livestock, but it seems that there are expos set up where people from countries across europe are selling their products. and local french farmer%26#39;s selling their wine/produce/products as well.. is this true?
www.salon-agriculture.com/default_uk.htm
its 12 euro admission, but there is a mention that international visitors are free... %26quot;Entrance is free for international visitors.
Present yourself at the « International visitors reception pavilion » at Gate A (near the Palais des Sports – facing hall 1).
You will be asked to fill in an identification form and present us evidence of your profession (e.g. your visiting card). In exchange, you will be given an access badge. This is valid for the duration of the show. %26quot;
(do they require you to be of a certain profession to take advantage of this %26quot;offer%26quot; ? .. i could pass as %26quot;media%26quot; and my SO could be an aspiring wine importer maybe... ;p) salon-agriculture.com/uk/v_internationaux/in…
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FWIW, I don%26#39;t know the first thing about the goal of the conference/4H show but the people coming and going from the Parc des Expositions are all business suits and no overalls.
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It is a big deal here, all of the public school kids go. I went with a kleptomaniac cousin years ago. There were lots of tasty samples to try... foie gras, champagne, truffles, but nothing for sale. Curiously when we got to the parking he had a bottle of Dom, two truffles and a jar of pate. I never saw a thing.
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OMG! What am I missing? I just saw the usual convention crowd! Can we actually go or do we need to have industry credentials?
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Everybody can go, I went 2 years ago with my son and it was quite funny, this year there will be no chicken though :(
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Here is a link to a webblog, the author just recently wrote about her visit to this year salon. I visited one years ago and bought some great products I have not seem anywhere since.
www.ruerude.com/2006/02/the_biggest_far.html
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It is huge (one of the few shows at Porte de Versailles to take up almost if not all the exhibition halls), horribly crowded on week-ends. IMHO it is primarily interesting to understand the French obsession/monomania towards food, the terroir, rural %26quot;roots%26quot; (that are remote to 90 % of us, like some Americans who claim they are %26quot;Italian%26quot; because their great great grandfather arrived from Naples at Ellis Island in 1922). It is a must go for all politicians, Chirac has been spending his two to three hours there for each of the show%26#39;s last 40 editions. More prosaicly, it is a potent platform for the farming lobby to get away with basically everything it demands and obtains, during this fortnight when France embraces this dubious neo-Petainist ideology of %26quot;real rural values%26quot; and %26quot;eternal France%26quot;.
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Thanks for the info!
kind of upsetting that you can%26#39;t actually buy anything :( though it sounds like its worth seeing for the product samples... i think we might try to head out on Friday... web sites lists Friday as %26quot;extra festive%26quot; ...and its open a little later.
no info on the international deal, whether its for industry professionals or just anyone international?
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OK, so just got back... The Salon International de l%26#39;Agriculture was FANTASTIC!!! Probably the best thing I%26#39;ve done in Paris... we actually went back two days after we first went...
There were a number of halls with various things in them... we first went into the French vegetables/seafood hall, which was more of demonstrations than anything. But we picked just the right door to walk in, as right when we walked in they were shucking oysters and giving them out for free... There was another stand that was giving tastings of some exotic looking seafood that tasted like lobster (I still have NO idea what it is.. :( ..it looked like coral almost though...).
On the second day we went back, none of the seafood free samples we found were present... They were charging for them. I think they were free the first day because we went on Friday, which was described as %26quot;extra festive%26quot; on the site... they had bands and all kinds of stuff. it was fun. The second day was also a weekend, so it was VERY crowded and you almost couldn%26#39;t walk.
Then we went to the International vendors hall, then to the French regions hall, then to another French regions hall.
Regarding nothing being for sale...this seems to have changed since years prior. You could sample almost anything, but EVERYTHING was for sale. To me this was a good thing, since I bought a lot of wine. (I also brought foie gras, cheese, some sausage... and debated on truffles. all of which you%26#39;re not supposed to bring back into the US...). At times there were very high pressure sales techniques after sampling. One snobby vendor actually told us she couldn%26#39;t give us a sample, since we were from the US and %26quot;she couldn%26#39;t sell wine to us...%26quot; (BTW, this was the ONLY encountering of anyone %26quot;snobby%26quot; on our entire trip... there%26#39;s always one b#*#* in the bunch I guess).
There were also on site restaraunts... though they were all somewhat overpriced, and had very limited menus, and I question how good the food could have been considering there were no kitchens... So after debating on a place to eat there both times, we decided to wait until we got somewhere else both times.
FYI, it was completely free for International visitors (there was a clearly marked %26quot;international visitors%26quot; gate... you went inside, filled out a little form with your name/address, they gave you a pass. they didn%26#39;t even ask to see our passport, but it was probably obvious we weren%26#39;t French. They also didn%26#39;t ask for %26quot;proof of profession%26quot; as the web site stated, so this might have been a translation error. The form asked what your reason for visiting was, and %26quot;tourism%26quot; was one of the listed reasons... So apparently its acceptable to be a tourist and get in for free) ;)
...if you go to this, I highly recommend going on the Friday night (assuming they continue the %26quot;festivities%26quot; next year... and if not Friday go on a different weekday, the weekend was almost annoyingly crowded.
If you%26#39;re visiting France while they%26#39;re having this (I guess its annually during the first week of March..), you%26#39;d be silly not to go for at least a few hours. Though I%26#39;m shocked that in the three travel books we had, there was no mention of it at all in their calendar.
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I just want to add another enthusiastic endorsement of this event. It is SO MUCH FUN!! We bought wonderful fig products, cassis vinegar and artisanale cheeses as well as wine. The halls are divided into regions of France and there are many mom-and-pop booths with friendly French vendors eager to talk about the products from their farms. We also saw folk dancers and strolling musicians. We also saw gorgeous sheep, many varieties, up close and personal, as well as other farm animals. This is an event for someone who has already done all the A-list Paris sites and is ready to do an off-beat outing. In other words, I wouldn%26#39;t skip the Louvre for this, but for someone ready for a change, this is fun. Unfortunately, it%26#39;s over until next year.
Also note, there are %26quot;salons%26quot; or exhibitions held regularly, (including salons featuring wines, chocolate) so check the listings in PariScope whenever you%26#39;re in Paris to see if there are any salons of interest.
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