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A photographer and a cameraman came to blows as those in the
media scrum struggled to get shots of Anderson at a news
conference. Some 25 other journalists were left stuck outside
for want of sufficient space for them in the room.
The Canadian-born star was campaigning for a bill tabled by an
environmentalist lawmaker, undeterred that it has little hope of
passing in the absence of support from virtually all other
members of parliament.
"As a Canadian, I am ashamed by the brutal clubbing of baby
seals and thus I have empathy for many of the French citizens
who also experience both shame and sadness at the misery
suffered by these very sociable birds," Anderson said.
Foie gras is made from geese and duck livers which have been
fattened, usually by force feeding. Sold whole or as a pate, it
is considered a gourmet food in both Western and Asian cuisine,
but the practice of force-feeding has often been criticized as
cruel by animal activists.
California banned its manufacture and sale in 2012. A federal
judge has blocked the ban on sales but the state appealed the
ruling.
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Anderson's appearance at the French parliament comes as the sector
struggles with a production freeze due to the spread of bird flu in
southwestern France, by far the biggest producing region. The
industry says the measure will cost them as much as 350 million
euros.
"We understand that some people don't want to eat foie gras but they
should not keep foie gras lovers from eating it," Marie-Pierre Pe,
an official with the Cifog foie gras producers association said.
France produces nearly 20,000 tonnes (22,000 tons) of foie gras per
year. Its main export markets include Japan, Spain and Belgium.
About 30,000 families in France depend on the sector for a living,
according to the Cifog.
(Reporting by Emile Picy, Pauline Ades-Mevel and Sybille de la
Hamaide, writing by Leigh Thomas; editing by Ralph Boulton)
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