Michelin menus in turmoil as France faces foie gras crisis
CNN
France's love for foie gras goose paté has endured controversy over animal cruelty, but appetites are now being hit by an invisible threat to its treasured delicacy.
Paris (CNN) — Fois gras, the French culinary jewel that is as delicious as it is controversial, is a staple of upscale restaurants across the country. But now it's vanishing from menus during an "unprecedented" crisis that has seen some manufacturers begin to consider reducing portions.
At the heart of the problem is a bird flu epidemic that has been sweeping across the country -- and Europe -- for months. It's already devastated the country's poultry industry, but now it threatens one of the country's greatest bastions: Its Michelin-starred restaurants.
"It's been a month since we started to have less foie gras, and then this week we got none," says Pascal Lombard, the chef and owner of Le 1862, a one Michelin-star fine dining venue in bucolic southwestern France.
The US began pulling military equipment and additional personnel out of Niger on Friday after waiting months for the ruling military junta to approve US military flights into the country, two sources familiar with the matter said Saturday, ahead of a September 15 withdrawal deadline agreed to by the two countries.