French Carrefour

The last weekend I visited the Carrefour National Pêche et Loisirs, probably the biggest fishing show in France. I came on invitation of my friend Philipe and his intenet magazine Avozetto.

I have visited several fishing shows over Europe, but never one in France. My French is no good and so I stuck to countries where I felt more comfortable being able to speak only Czech or English. But the offer from Philipe came in a way that I felt unable to refuse and so off to Clermont - Ferrand I went.

I was curious how the French show would compare to others, such as the BFFI in Stafford.

The surprising answer was that what happened on the show was very similar to other shows: the same crowds of sportsmen mildly intoxicated by all the fishing goodies, with an occassional shady character eager to sell his grandma for the right price was right thrown in.

The biggest difference was in what happened off the scene: the fabled French hospitability. On most shows the guys in tiers row recieve a sandwich; this was the first one on which lunch was a four course affair. Starting a day with a hearthy jambon sandwich gives one great strenght, though washing it down with red wine at 8:30 in the morning was not expected. But as they say - when in France, do as the French do...