“Tomato War”: a conflict arose between France and Spain over vegetables

French politician Segolene Royal called tomatoes of Spanish origin inedible on one of the TV channels. This caused a strong reaction in Spain, reports BFMTV.

In particular, the Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez in Brussels was forced to talk to the French leader Emmanuel Marcon about vegetables and politicians’ statements.

“He has not had the opportunity to taste Spanish tomatoes. I invite him to come to Spain and he will see that Spanish tomatoes are unsurpassed,” said Prime Minister Sanchez after the European summit in Brussels.

Meanwhile, the entire agricultural sector of Spain took action and expressed strong protests against the Royal accusations. Spanish farmers remember that production rules are the same in both countries. The Spanish trade association for organic production (Ecovalia) also responded. He said he “will not allow baseless claims to destroy an entire sector.”

Such comments are inappropriate, especially from the mouth of someone who has performed “public duties,” said Teresa Ribera, Spain’s Minister for Ecological Transition. The main opposition party, the right-wing People’s Party, has called for the protection of Spanish production.

“Have you tried the so-called organic Spanish tomatoes? They are inedible,” said the French politician Ségolène Royal on one of the TV channels a few days before. He criticized Spanish fruits and vegetables for not meeting French standards. “Spanish organic is fake organic,” he said.

Royal thanked Sanchez for the invitation, but again spoke of the unfair competition that plagues French farmers.

The “Tomato War”, as some Spanish media call it, has been fueling anxiety in Spain since the start of the French farmers’ anger movement. They accuse Spain of flooding the French market with cheap products that use large amounts of crop protection products.

During the protests in France in recent days, many trucks coming from Spain have been targeted for attacks. French farmers stopped them for inspection and threatened drivers carrying Spanish products.

Therefore, in Brussels, Pedro Sánchez was forced to defend the quality of his country’s agricultural products, pointing out that the same environmental rules apply to all EU countries, so Spanish products have no advantage in the European internal market.

But this week Spain’s main farmers’ unions also joined an angry movement of European farmers who say they are suffering from unnecessary bureaucracy and being controlled by European rules.

It was previously reported that in France there were protests against the migration policy.