aixcentric

It all started on Friday June 15th, when an official inspection revealed that the fish sellers on the quay of the Vieux Port hadn’t advertised their wares in Latin.

What?  I watched the TV news in astonishment.

Indeed it seems that for the past 5  years, the EU has ordered that signs should indicate the zone and method of fishing, as well as the name of the fish in Latin, just to be sure everyone knows what they are buying.

Merlan, for instance, would be advertised as merluccius merluccius.

The Marseille sellers interviewed didn’t appear to think this was a great idea, especially as fines could run up to 1,500 euros. ‘Une dorade c’est une dorade, ca suffit aux clients’, said one. La Provence commented on the EU decision, ‘Leur inventivité n’a pas de limites, pas meme celle de la crétinerie’.  But they do report that there are different species of dorade, one more rare and therefore more expensive while there are 8 sub-species of salmon.

Anyway, on Friday 22nd June, Monsieur le Maire, Jean-Claude Gaudin contacted Monsieur le President, Emmanuel Macron, who has assured him that the poissonieres du Vieux Port have no need to write Latin names on their blackboards.

All’s well that ends well!