French police have arrested a farmer who fatally shot a trespasser he suspected of trying to steal highly coveted truffles from his land on the edge of France’s southern Provence region.
The 32-year-old farmer told authorities he was guarding his truffle patch in the town of -Grignan when he was frightened by the intruder and shot him in the legs and head with a hunting rifle, police said on Wednesday.
Police said the farmer believed the man was armed. The 43-year-old victim died shortly after Monday’s shooting. Authorities did not release the names of either man.
Truffles are a fungus found mainly in forests in France and Italy and grow underground, in the root systems of host trees. They are prized for their rich, earthy flavors and can fetch astronomical prices, making them a prime target for thieves.
Didier Chabert, a local -truffle-grower who has known the accused farmer for many years, said the man had already been hit by thieves two or three times this truffle season, which runs from this month through March.
“At this time of year, the thieves are waiting for the moon to grow so there is light at night, the thief comes at that time to steal truffles,” Chabert said.
French forests produce 50 tonnes of black truffles in a good year, but poor weather caused last year’s harvest to drop to 25 tonnes, said Chabert, the former head of the local truffle-growers association.
Demand for truffles peaks at Christmas time, when the French traditionally splurge on delicacies such as truffles, champagne, foie gras, prawns and oysters. Last year black truffle prices reached US$600 for 0.45kg because of the shortage, Chabert said. The current price is just under US$500 for the same weight.
The head of another truffle sellers association said the problem of truffle theft has been growing.
“In the past month, everyone around here has been robbed,” Michel Meille said. “We went to the local officials and the police, but nothing was done.”
Meille said thieves have no trouble fencing the stolen booty.
“It’s all done under the table,” he said.
Chabert said his truffle patch is 2.5km away from the accused farmer’s. He inspects it every morning for truffle thieves’ telltale footprints, but so far he hasn’t caught one. He says he wishes his neighbor had come to him for help.
“If we were two or three to watch the truffles there wouldn’t be this problem,” Chabert said.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was