On the occasion of the opening of the Salon de l’Agriculture, diving in the middle of the beasts of the scene with photographers from our magazine… With Retro Match, follow the news through the archives of Paris Match.
Our photographers are surely more accustomed to princesses in their palaces than to queens of the prairies, but Match has always made it a point of honor to highlight the agricultural world. Just look at the donkey Vauban, the Wall Field Marshall pig, or even Seductive and Hyaline, champion cow from mother to daughter, to discover real beasts of the stage… Dive into the archives of our magazine on the occasion of the he opening of the Salon de l’Agriculture is to see the incredible French know-how, its immutable requirements as much as its evolution, as with these two juxtaposed photos in 1955: the old farmer facing the mechanization of his trade.
Discover Retro Match, news through the archives of Match…
The Agricultural Show, this great showcase of the rural world, this link between the French and their land, takes root in the history of the General Agricultural Competition. Officially created in 1870 by the Second Empire to promote French agriculture, the competition originally only took precedence over animals, selected and then used as breeding animals. Cows for milk, pigs for meat… but also draft horses or horses intended for the cavalry, or even sheep whose wool was used, among other things, to make military clothes.
Gradually, the General Agricultural Competition opened up to French regional products and mainly to wines, which currently represent almost half of the 12,000 products in competition, in the middle of cheeses, cold meats but also honeys, jams or even Espelette pepper. Farmers from all over France flock there, the event grows and arouses the curiosity of the rest of the population. To welcome all French people and no longer just professionals, the first International Agricultural Show opened its doors in Paris in 1964, with immediate success: 300,000 visitors. Success that has never wavered, with a record year of more than 700,000 visitors in 2014.
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