Do these protesting French farmers think they’re helping themselves, scaring the sh1t out of truck drivers, waving their pitchforks around and setting fire to stuff that looks like it might be imported? What are they trying to achieve? It’s certainly no way to promote French exports – and nothing says, ‘Holidaymakers! Welcome to France!’ like a huge heap of burning fish.
Now, if Eric Cantona is to be believed, French farmers go swaggering round getting treated like football superstars. Is it this ego trip that causes them to feel they can get away with doing whatever they like, and the world will still buy French machinery, holiday on their Rivera, gorge on their cheese and wine?
Attacking truckers is a major ball-dropping by the world’s largest exporter of farm products. They’ve already got an Arab boycott on their hands – they might soon find a few more countries refusing their products if they carry on with these strong-arm militant tactics.
Yes, France is synonymous with quality in certain areas, particularly when it comes to food and beverages. But are they that good we’ll still buy French when they’re costing our economy an estimated 250 million a day and every expectant mother in Kent is frightened their little bundle of joy will be born unto a traffic jam on the M20, wedged in between a fleet of articulated lorries queuing up to get into France. I don’t think so, mon cheries.
Not when there’s loads of worthy substitutes out there. Spanish Cava. Italian Prosecco. The Germans have got the beer sewn up (their engineering is pretty nifty too). British cheese, British aircraft, Swiss pharma, Indian steel…the list goes on.
Point I’m making is, we live in a global marketplace. Globalisation is not going to go away. If you’re scared of prices falling, you find another way to compete. Compete on quality, service, reputation. Think like Richard Branson, not Tony Soprano.
I don’t like selfishness, so I’m not really into this organised selfishness. But the French farmers who set fire to a few lorry loads of fish- you need to wise up, lads. I’m telling you, the first sprog that drops on the M20 and the British red top papers will scream for a French boycott…and a lot of people would happily along with it.
But not me. No way could I give up wearing French knickers.