French leftists call to ban giant banquets enjoyed by thousands of revellers claiming they are purposely excluding Muslims and vegetarians

Banquets enjoyed across the French countryside have become a hot political issue after hard-left politicians called for their ban.

The massive events, run by company called Le Canon Français, have proved a hit across rural France with four courses of local cuisine, unlimited wine, and several hours of music and group singing.

However, politicians from the La France Insoumise (LFI) party have accused the events, costing around €81 (£70) per ticket, of turning a blind eye to racist chanting and deliberately excluding Muslims and vegetarians by featuring pork regularly on the menu.

They also pointed to the involvement of conservative investor Pierre-Edouard Stérin as evidence the banquets are used promote the agenda of the hard right.

Emma Fourreau, an LFI member of the European Parliament, told the BBC: "If they were in good faith, Le Canon Français would never have accepted Stérin as an investor. But they did - they took his money.

She added the banquets are "backward-looking – a caricature...They don't represent modern France, which is a place rich in its diversity."

One of the cofounders of Le Canon Français, Pierre-Alexandre de Boisse, hit back at the LFI's claims, adding the company is merely reviving an old French tradition of dining en masse with local fare, something dating back into the depths of medieval history.

Mr de Boisse started the business alongside friend Géraud de la Tour, originally selling wine over the internet to help a winegrower acquaintance during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As their business grew, they started staging events to raise money for heritage projects, with their success leading to the banquets.

Mr de Boisse said: "Nowadays people waste so much of their time alone, in their homes, on social media. They've lost the habit of being together and talking. What gives us the most pleasure is when we see the lawyer sitting next to the baker, chatting away.

"Of course we cannot police the minds of all the people who come. Occasionally maybe someone drunk says something stupid. But our rules are quite clear and set out in the charter, to which everyone signs up when they buy a ticket."

He also rejected claims from the LFI that the banquets only serve pork, adding it is served regularly due to charcuterie being a key part of the French rural culinary tradition.

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At one banquet in the Alsace town of Colmar, accusations from the LFI were dismissed as out of hand, with a punter saying: "We come for four things: atmosphere, friends, alcohol and food."

Quentin from Besançon added: "None of this was an issue, but then Stérin became a shareholder and that gave the LFI an excuse to attack. Don't forget there are elections next year."

While Mr de Boisse does not deny that many of his punters are right-wing, he added: "Look at the elections. That is how more and more people in the countryside are voting.

"Look, I create jobs, I create happiness for the people who come to the banquets. OK, these politicians don't like the shareholder, they don't like the people who come to the banquets, they don't like my name, but why do they have to go on the attack? Why can't they just leave us alone?"

Mr de Boisse pointed to the tradition of the" banquets républicains", which were held not long after the French Revolution concluded.

The events marked the arrival of the new system with French villages used to have its annual "banquet populaire", a yearly celebration described as a "people's feast."

Mr de Boisse described himself as a Catholic from the impoverished aristocracy and an entrepreneur, adding it would offend against both his ethics and his business sense to exclude people from the banquets.

He claimed he has never met Mr Stérin, who "bought a 30 per cent stake purely because he could see we were very profitable".

France is due to go to the polls for the Presidential election next year, with incumbent Emmanuel Macron ineligible to stand for a third term.

While no date has been set for the election, President Macron took office for his second term on May 14, 2022, meaning his five-year term ends on the evening of May 13, 2027.

According to the French Constitution, the vote must take place between 20 and 35 days before the end of the term, leaving two possible Sundays for the first round: either April 11 or April 18, 2027.