A selection by Internet users and a jury choice.
Last Saturday, the Miss France election took place on a major national channel. On social networks, a completely different competition was open to young farmers. After submitting their application online with a presentation text and a photograph, they were submitted to votes by Internet users. The twenty candidates who obtained the most likes during the week then had to send a short video to introduce themselves. A jury made up of their peers was then responsible for electing the big winner. A few minutes after Miss France’s announcement, a young Seynoise heard her phone ringing.
Gabrielle will take over the reins of the family business this year.
She says: “I’m in the middle of a daydream! I have heard about this competition for years but I did not yet feel legitimate to participate, because I was only a caregiver for my parents. Now, I have several years of experience behind me and above all, I change status during the year. I am going to take over the reins of operations and become business manager. I told myself it was the right time and I thought I would live it as an experience. All the profiles were of high quality, I obviously had hope, as one dreams of a goal to achieve, but I did not think I would be elected on my first try!”
The desire to best represent the agricultural world.
Since then, the 22-year-old has been doing radio and TV interviews. She will receive her scarf at the agricultural show next February and is already hoping to be able to meet the politicians. “The agricultural world is angry and I am not therea spokesperson, but I can, perhaps, still make my little voice heard. We know the problem of importing with less restrictive standards than those established on French soil. But I would likes also highlight the problem of inheritance costs when you start in the profession and the administration which is very cumbersome. We must help those who want to embark on this difficult profession.”
At Clos Mireille, the sale of fruits and vegetables.
Long before the French Revolution, this plot of land located at 160 Vieux chemin des Sablettes had a nurturing role. Moreover, in old letters from her family, we speak of “this woman who writes”, who is said to be not very affable… and not very lovable! It is actually George Sand who took the small path in front of the farm. Gabrielle’s father, Robert, provides an explanation for this: “She only spoke in French when the people here spoke Provençal. Two languages that confront each other do not always promote exchanges.” At the time, there were mainly fruit trees and olive trees on the farm. It was in 1953 that it was decided to build a well in order to promote cultivation. “Then my grandmother opened the doors of the family home to the neighbors for sale, Gabrielle intervenes. The farm still bears his name today. In our family, it was the women who held the land for all these years, the men were all decimated by war or disease. »
A treasure of 20th century heritage.
If the years pass and the generations succeed one another, the land keeps traces of past cultures. At Clos Mireille, it is still possible to see greenhouses on rails at the back of the land. They were installed in the 1960s. At the time, the system was considered avant-garde because it proposed respecting the seasonality of crops by allowing rotation. It took a day of work and at least two people to be able to move the greenhouses about thirty meters. To discover!
Mar-Vivo, (160 old chemin des Sablettes) sale of vegetables and fruits on Saturday and Tuesday morning.
Photos © Lola Diligent
