2023-08-31 02:07:25
Tours hosts the largest organic market in the region every year. For 2023, Convergences Bio will take place on Sunday September 17 on the quays of the Loire Place Anatole France and at the foot of the guinguette. At least 120 stands of producers are expected there. 12 to 15,000 people could frequent the premises. A substantial attendance that hides a growing dislike for food without chemical treatments. And that worries the organizer, Bernard Charret.
In 2023 we would tend to consume fewer organic products than before the Covid crisis. And yet we rushed to small local eco-responsible producers during confinement. And yet we are aware that it is a rather virtuous mode of consumption in these times of climate change. But organic is more expensive. Sometimes much more expensive. So we turn away from it, sometimes reluctantly. “In this period of permanent anxiety, we return to primary school and the primary thing is to eat. Eating good becomes the least of the worries » analyzes Bernard Charret, at the head of a grill restaurant in Larçay and founder of the Convergences Bio market which brings together dozens of stands each end of summer on the banks of the Loire in Tours.
The event has been around for two decades. It’s a growing success every year with stalls often empty before the end of the day and a loyal crowd. But it is the remarkable tree that hides a somewhat decrepit forest. “For three years organic has been in free fall everywhere. Ten years ago I was optimistic but I’m not anymore, I’m a little sad, I can’t see the solution” laments Bernard Charret.
However, he is not discouraged: “We have no right to stop Convergences Bio! » To convince himself of this, he cites the peasants today at the head of a farm and who had the idea of getting involved through meetings on the market. “There are also plenty of people in the food trades who hang around and make contacts, winegrowers who want to come even if they are in the middle of the harvest period, producers who are there even if they don’t have much for sale. » A popular event, the event is also a militant meeting with conferences and concerts by committed artists. For this year 2023, saucy clowns will challenge the crowd. “There are plenty of people who don’t come for the trade, there are even a lot of them” assure Bernard Charret.
This is what has always motivated this cook who loves organic products, who also gives his time once a week to prepare meals for the association La Table de Jeanne-Marie in the Febvotte district (it distributes free meals to the poorest ). “Convergences Bio shouldn’t just be a simple market, it had to be a great moment of meeting with an atmosphere all day long. For the majority of farmers, it is an opportunity to see the city public that they do not meet the rest of the year. » And despite the crowds, and sometimes long queues, the founder of the event ensures that there is still room for quality exchanges on cultivation methods, the personality of the farms, the origin of the products. …
Vegetables, fruits, meat, cheeses, wines, breads, ice creams… There are therefore dozens of products that will line up on September 17 with the added bonus of the 2nd edition of the peasant meal Place Anatole France, on the quay overlooking the Loire. The formula will be offered at €15 with only local products cooked by their producers (including Montrésor red fruit sorbets for dessert). Reservations are made on the website of the city of Tours. Remember that in the series of meals with a view of the Loire, Bernard Charret is also organizing his big annual solidarity dinner this Friday, September 8 on Simon Island with an aperitif-starter-main course-dessert-drinks combo for 26€ for 150 guests. But in total, 450 people will take part in the evening, a third of whom are totally invited by charities such as Utopia 56 or Entraide et Solidarités.
Created in 2012, the event managed not to increase its price in this year of inflation, to remain accessible to the general public and continue to encourage impromptu encounters: “We forget the social etiquette” insists Bernard Charret. “When we’re at the aperitif, everyone is on their feet, touching each other, that’s when the encounters begin. » For example this year, a hundred bargemen going up the Loire towards Orléans will be invited to the party. “Looking back, the event is getting stronger and stronger in heat, there is a moment when you feel that everyone is in synergy” underlines its initiator. Places are still available on the Hello Asso website.
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