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George Clooney funds organic fruit farm in southern France

The American actor George Clooney has committed to helping finance a municipal farm that will provide fresh, organic food to local schoolchildren in southern France.

Published: 16 March 2023 14:46 CET

George Clooney funds organic fruit farm in southern France

US actor George Clooney and his partner Amal Clooney during the 42nd edition of the Cesar Ceremony in Paris in 2017. (Photo by bertrand GUAY / AFP)

American star Clooney – who is set to adapt the iconic French television series Le Bureau des Legends for English-speaking audiences – has reportedly financed a municipal farm to be built in the southern French département of Var.

Located in Brignoles, north of Toulon, the farm will offer locally produced vegetables and fruit to school children in the town, according to Le Parisien.

Clooney and his wife, Amal, own property in Canadel – also located along the Mediterranean in the Var département.

READ MORE: George Clooney to remake hit French spy show ‘The Bureau’

According to the town’s mayor, Didier Bremond, the Clooneys are actively involved in the town, even though they do not live there year-round. The couple proposed to the mayor that they could help to finance a plot of land to grow fresh fruits and vegetables for the town.

The plan is for all food produced on the municipal farm will go to the town’s school canteens, to help maintain their commitment to offering students organic food.

Le Parisien spoke with members of the town of Brignoles, who have begun calling Clooney “George l’écolo” (George the environmentalist).

One shopkeeper, Michel, told the French daily about how the actor had given financial assistance to victims of flooding in the town just two years ago.

“This time he has committed to the town’s children. I think it’s great”, the shopkeeper told Le Parisien.

The farm is expected to be functional within the coming weeks.

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Why Bordeaux winemakers are planning to uproot almost 10% of vineyards

France is the world’s second-largest wine producer after Italy, and to many, the Bordeaux area is its crown jewel. But after this year’s harvest almost 10,000 hectares of vineyards in the region will be uprooted.

The reason is that wine demand – especially for red wine – has been decreasing and winegrowers are scrambling to deal with overproduction.

With too much wine on the market, prices have dropped. In January, almost a third of professional winegrowers in the Bordeaux appellation said they were experiencing financial difficulty, with almost a quarter seeing the best solution as uprooting their vines, according to French daily Le Parisien.

AFP reported in February that red wine sales in French supermarkets dropped 15 percent in 2022. Meanwhile, white and rosé wine were less affected, registering declines of around three and four percent.

READ MORE: ANALYSIS: Why the French are drinking less and less wine

According to Le Parisien, when it comes to the decrease in red wine consumption – it is the less prestigious appellations that are suffering most due to the collapse in prices and overproduction. The grand crus – expensive, high-end wines – have been less affected.

The trend of dropping wine consumption is not new – the average amount of wine drunk per year per French person has been declining for the last 70 years. Once at 130 litres per year per person on average, that number is now closer to 40 litres per year.

The reason that red wine sales are declining faster than white and rosé is not clear – but some suggestions include longer, hotter summers leading to a longer season for whites and rosés. Alternatively the decline in the consumption of red meat – the traditional pairing for red wine – has been suggested.

Uprooting the vineyards

The process of uprooting the vines is called “grubbing up” the land, and it would help to reduce production, and allow wine growers to repurpose the land for other activities.

“The grubbing-up of vines in Gironde should not be seen as a step backwards, but rather as a way of preparing to win back the market”, France’s Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, said at the Salon de l’Agriculture in February.

Le Parisien reported on Wednesday that 9,500 hectares will be uprooted – a number that the Bordeaux wine trade association calculated would help to match supply to demand.

Grubbing up the vines will also help to prevent the spread of ‘flavescence dorée‘ a vine disease that tends to affect abandoned vineyards and can spread to others, leading to major crop losses.

As an incentive to uproot the plants, farmers will be given €6,000 per hectare grubbed up.

Previously, winegrowers had asked for compensation of at least €10,000 per hectare. The organisation “Viti 33” which represents winegrowers in the area, told Le Parisien that the aid offered will not be enough for many winegrowers who may be too old to begin planting new crops.

The French government has also come up with other solutions to deal with the wine backlog. In February, France’s agriculture ministry said it would spend up to €160 million on distilling the tipple into industrial alcohol to use up some of the backlog.

This is also not the first time the industry has faced surplus – in 2020, when France had too much wine to spare as a result of the pandemic, the extra wine was also distilled into fuel for vehicles.

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