The French Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, contradicted this Sunday the former socialist candidate for the country’s presidency Ségolène Royal, who attacked the quality of Spanish organic tomatoes. In statements to the ‘LCI’ channel, Fesneau accused of “populism” and “demagoguery” to the former French Minister of the Environment, while accusing her of having soured relations with Spain.

“The regulation on organic products is European, Spanish tomatoes respect the same standards as French ones,” said the French head of Agriculture, to which he added: “In a crisis like this, saying anything is not the solution“.

In the midst of the agricultural crisis opened in France due to farmers’ demonstrations, Royal assured last Tuesday that Spanish organic tomatoes are “inedible”and accused Spanish producers of not being authentically organic.

For his part, Fesneau recalled that Spain showed solidarity with France in a recent rinderpest crisis, noting that Royal’s words clouded relations with a country with which trade is intense.

In addition, he pointed out that tomatoes may have less flavor outside their usual season, in summer, but he assured that this also happens to French tomatoes. “But attack our Spanish friendswith whom we trade, who helped us a lot in this matter of bovine disease, is unconscious“Declared Fesneau.

The Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, thanked Fesneau for his words on his X profile, describing his statements as “a true message of friendship and truth.”

The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, had already responded to Royal this Thursday at the end of the European Council in Brussels: “I invite you to come to Spain to try any of the Spanish tomato varieties and you will see that the Spanish tomato is unbeatable.”

The former candidate for the Elysée, who lost in 2007 against the conservative Nicolas Sarkozy, responded to Sánchez through the social network sanitary conditions are not equal, the competition is unfair“.