How the mayor of Grasse wants to make the L'Instant Lavande event an "important meeting" to defend threatened expertise

The "fight" continues. On July 12, Grasse will host the 3rd edition of Instant Lavande, which, since 2023, has been showcasing this plant, inseparable from the region's olfactory identity, with the immense purple expanses of the Valensole plateau (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) – France's largest producer – as its flagship.

A major essence, too, of a perfume industry with major economic stakes for the Grasse region. And whose future, as an essential oil, was called into question during debates in the European Parliament, where the issue of classification among allergens and other endocrine disruptors was discussed. Faced with the threat, as early as 2021, stakeholders stood up. Mayor of Grasse and president of the urban area, Jérôme Viaud, made numerous trips to Brussels (Belgium) to plead the cause.

A first fight "for naturalness" won

And "fight for naturalness, around which I built the Grasse strategy ," he recalled in our columns in January 2024. "It is impossible to let the Green Deal commission say that the Centifolia rose, jasmine or lavender are products dangerous to health. We wanted to structure this fight, because Grasse is not the only city concerned."

Thus, in June 2023 – one month before the first edition of Instant Lavande – he co-founded the European Club of Mayors of Perfume Cities, alongside the mayor of Kazanlak (Bulgaria), land of roses. Coincidence or successful undermining (or both), in October 2023, Europe gave ground by committing, by amendment, to protect lavender. A "battle won," proudly proclaimed Jérôme Viaud. But, while waiting to be assured that the "war" is also won, he has no intention of letting up the pressure.

MEPs Bellamy and Castillo at the meeting?

So, this 3rd edition of Instant Lavande, he expects it to be "an important event" , hoping for "a national and international influence" he said, ahead of the last municipal council meeting, at the beginning of April. If, on Saturday July 12, the event - co-organized with the association La Lavanderaie de Marie, Pays de Grasse en Provence - will compile a Provençal market, activities, conferences and a photo exhibition for the general public, the day before will be dedicated to professionals and elected officials. "We will invite many European commissioners and MEPs to debate the importance of naturalness" assures Jérôme Viaud, seen, mid-March in Brussels, busy convincing the Nice LR MEP Laurent Castillo - the presence of his counterpart, François-Xavier Bellamy, as well as that of the mayors of the European Club, Gérard Aurric (Valensole) at the head, is also mentioned by the mayor of Grasse.

Who repeats the argument: "Is naturalness dangerous for humans? Should we replace it with chemicals? For us, it's all a question of quality and use. Because if there is no more lavender, an entire ecosystem, farmers, beekeepers, etc. , will die."