Affectionately known as the "biggest farm in France", the Paris International Agricultural Show, a nine-day fair spread over a vast exhibition lot on the French capital's southwestern edge, is the nation's showcase for the best the countryside has to offer, from livestock to terroir delicacies, primed for prestigious competition. But in an election year, the event's straw-strewn aisles are also home to another preening breed: that political beast known as the French presidential candidate.
Last year's edition of the Salon de l'Agriculture, cancelled over Covid-19, was the first-ever break with a hallowed tradition. The 58th running of the fair began on Saturday and runs through March 6, little more than a month before the first round of France's presidential election on April 10. Even as war raged in Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron said he would attend the fair's opening day, poised as he is to announce his bid for re-election any day now. And few, if any, of Macron's challengers for the Élysée Palace can afford to skip the affair, either. They know where their bread is buttered, quite literally.
