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BRUSSELS — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says France’s tomatoes just can’t ketchup to his country’s produce.
During the past week French politicians, under pressure from striking farmers, have expressed solidarity with protesters who claim their Spanish counterparts enjoy an unfair advantage because they are subject to less demanding environmental standards and can therefore produce fruit and vegetables at a lower cost.
On Sunday, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal appeared to support this argument during a visit to a farm in Indre-et-Loire, telling a farmer that it was not fair that “neighboring countries” can use pesticides that are prohibited in France. He added that it was “hypocritical” to import fruit and vegetables from places that are “destroying their own ecosystem” to produce them.
But after Thursday’s European Council summit in Brussels, Sánchez rejected Attal’s comments and praised Spanish produce. He said that its popularity was due to its superior quality.
“Our products’ success is the result of the huge innovative advances undertaken by the agricultural sector and the hard work of Spanish farmers,” the prime minister said.
Sánchez also took aim at negative comments made by former French Ecology Minister Ségolène Royal, who this week claimed that Spanish produce was “fake bio” and declared the country’s tomatoes are uneatable.
The Spanish prime minister listed off the rich variety of “delicious” tomatoes produced in his country and said he had no doubt they were the best in the world.
He also invited Royal to come to Spain and try them. “In no time at all she’ll see why they are unrivaled,” Sánchez said.
