Rungis

Famous market. First official visit in France

“This morning at 4:15 AM, when we left the house and Carla said ‘I’m coming with you’, that was definitely an excellent start to the day!” For her first official visit in France, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy  accompanied her husband to Rungis. On Tuesday, May 27, 2008, a month before taking up the European presidency, Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed his support for “The France that gets up early“. What better symbol than Rungis, the largest wholesale market in the European community, with 15 pavilions that replaced the former Halles de Paris as of 1969. On the presidential couple’s arrival at around 5 AM several dozen protesters were demonstrating following a call from the CGT Val-de-Marne trade union to legalize illegal workers who had been working for more than 10 years at the MIN (Market of National Interest). “These people get up early every day and they need papers.” Accompanied by two Secretaries of State, Hervé Novelli (Consumption) and Luc Chatel (Trade), the couple discussed producers’ concerns over coffee and cheese, including increasing milk prices etc. “And on top of that we have quotas“, lamented a cheesemonger.