Every year in early spring, the French clean up the ditches that run along the highways. They put up special protective shields and clean the drain from plastic debris. However, this is not done at all to drain rainwater, as one might think.
Construction of roadside ditches is becoming especially important in France in the spring. From April to early June in the provinces begins … the migration of frogs. Some unknown force of green freshwater beckons precisely through numerous roads in the direction of meadows and lakes. Cars, undoubtedly, injure and destroy frogs, and therefore it was decided to save them manually.
Security system
On the side of the ditch, which runs directly along the road, protective screens made of polyethylene film are installed. This is done with only one purpose: to prevent frogs sleeping in ditches from getting out on the highway and getting under the wheels of racing cars.
In the morning, the French carefully transport the frogs across the track to nearby water bodies. Such a delicate treatment of freshwater makes many smile, and for the French this strange activity can serve as an excuse for absenteeism, whereas in any other country such an act would be considered absenteeism.
Such a careful handling of these amphibians is explained not only by their love of nature, but also by the fact that in France the eating of frog legs has become a national tradition. Although to say that all French people without exception eat such a product is tantamount to the fact that all Russians gorge themselves on pancakes with black caviar.
Gastronomic traditions
The tradition of eating frog legs originated in France in ancient times, or rather, during the Hundred Years War between France and England. France was exhausted by a long war, agriculture completely fell into decay. Peasants without exception were taken into the army, only women and old people could work the land. All these circumstances caused widespread famine. Residents, not finding food, began to eat everything that was suitable for food. Frogs were among them.
The British reacted instantly to the French's new product. They released a caricature of the King of France Charles X, in which he was depicted as a bloated frog with a crown on his head. Around the throne, the ruler was surrounded by frogs. Since then, an almost official nickname for the French - "frog pads" has arisen.
France is a country famous for its cuisine. Over the centuries, the French have invented and perfected frog's leg dishes. However, some say that frog meat is very useful, rich in trace elements and vitamins, it tastes like chicken meat, while others argue that uncontrolled extermination of the frog population can lead to biological failure in nature.
Numerous societies for the protection of animals denounce the "eaters" of frog legs that only about 120 g of the whole mass of frog meat is used for food, and the rest is thrown away. Nevertheless, the fashion for frog meat dishes has long spread throughout the world. This tradition is especially firmly entrenched in the East Asian countries.
