Journalist and Author, Lucile Leclair is interested in agriculture and farmers. She looked at her last book “Hold-up on earth” on agricultural land in France.
by
“I am a northern girl, the fourth of a tribe of six children in Calais. A childhood full of shared moments, warm table memories, great who take care of the little ones … My parents worked a lot, We were not going to the market, but there was still a culture of cooking with us, thanks to two excellent great grandmothers, including a Breton who transmitted to us the passion of butter, pancakes, four -Quarts and rhubarb crumbs.
Very early, I had the bougeotte, the desire of nomadism. Journalism was a good alibi to leave with a backpack … I studied political science in Paris, I passionate about agriculture. I do not have a history, no farmers in my family. I just had that certainty that one “votes with his fork”, that the gesture of eating is no different from that of putting a newsletter in a ballot box. I decided to understand and learn by meeting the peasants, doing with them. Write on them, tell their stories came next. I learned everything on the job.
relegated to the rank of executors
For my first book, I met people who had changed jobs, a beekeeper nurse, a market gardening officer, sheepbreed communication officer. These people tell both the time and the lives they leave, by formulating a certain criticism of modern society, but also speak of the world in which they arrive. If access to land is often difficult, one of the conclusions of this book is that there is no need for “agricultural gene” to become a peasant.
My newest book is about land grabbing in France. Before starting my investigation, I thought it was a phenomenon that was only going on Brazil or Madagascar. But I have discovered that, since 2010, thousands of hectares of agricultural land are bought in France, covered by industrial groups. Nobody sees it – there are no signs above the fields, no marks in the landscapes – but it’s more and more frequent.
But the earth is a living organism, and when it is managed remotely by a company, there is no longer a link between man and earth, more responsibility or care. Farmers who once owned are relegated to the rank of performers. It is often a solution of ease, but it is not necessarily inevitability.
Last year, for this book, I went to a dozen regions, and in the north, I followed the Auchan Farm case. The supermarket sign wanted to take back land to grow vegetables for its stores, and a whole village fought against the project for one year until it is suspended. It was on this occasion that I met Jean-François, a grain farmer who militated against the Auchan Farm.
I was at home with other farmers, and he prepared his chocolate fondant – an archi-simple and delicious dessert. He said, “It’s the indemment of Jean-François.” As interfering as he in his country, finally. “