Flower farmers hope France keeps its nose for perfume
In the region around the city of Grasse, there are only 40 to 50 hectares left of land reserved for the cultivation of fragrant flowers, including Centifolia roses and jasmine, and to a much lesser extent, iris, orange blossoms and geraniums.
At the beginning of the last century, the fields stretched as far as the eye could see between the Esterel Mountains and the sea; but now, there's almost nothing left. Intense land speculation took its toll, and housing developments eventually replaced the flowers.
Today, a hectare of agricultural land in the region can be bought for around 150,000 euros. "That's a hundred times more than in Normandy," claims Sébastien Rodriguez, who runs a rose garden called "La Roseraie du Vignal" in Grasse.
The flower-growing profession has been killed off by the massive offshoring of floriculture to countries with low-cost labor such as Bulgaria, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and India, and by the arrival of synthetic ingredients in the perfume industry.
And yet, in this industry that seemed to be dying, new floral career interests are blossoming.
"It took Chanel and Dior, the leaders in the luxury business, to play the game and sign long-term contracts with farmers, and that shocked industry professionals," Rodriguez says.
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