France: 70,000 Visit Arras Fry Championship as CNIPT Defends Imperfect Potatoes After Heat

The French potato sector used a public festival in Arras to explain a difficult harvest to consumers. The fourth World French Fry Championship took place on Saturday 26 September on the Grand’Place in Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France. According to the farm website Terre-net, the event drew about 70,000 visitors.

The national potato interprofession CNIPT was a partner of the event for the second year in a row. Before the event, CNIPT president Luc Chatelain said that “a potato with imperfections can still make an excellent fry”. According to the regional newspaper La Gazette France, summer heatwaves cut potato yields in the area by more than 6 tonnes per hectare compared with the historical average. CNIPT asked consumers to accept potatoes that are smaller or have an unusual shape, because their taste and cooking quality remain good.

At an institutional breakfast during the day, CNIPT met local officials and farm representatives to discuss the exceptional summer weather and its effect on potato production in Hauts-de-France, especially in the Pas-de-Calais. The CNIPT stand also offered quizzes and cooking demonstrations to show that potatoes can be used for much more than fries.

According to the Hauts-de-France regional council, the contest had seven categories this year: authentic fries for professionals, family fries for amateurs, creative fries, fry sauces, international fries, a category for hospitality students, and a new category for artisanal crisps. A new entertainment contest, “Air Frite”, asked about 15 participants to mime the perfect way to cook fries, without real potatoes or fryers. It was hosted by the TV personality Chris Marques. A potato grower won third place in the family fries category.

Hauts-de-France is the largest potato region of France. Arras is also the birthplace of the botanist Charles de l’Écluse (Clusius), born in 1526, who helped spread potato growing in Europe.

Why it matters

France is the largest potato producer in the European Union, and 2026 is one of its weakest harvests in decades because of heat, drought and a smaller planted area. Many tubers are small or misshapen this year. If retailers and consumers refuse them, growers lose even more income.

By speaking directly to a large public audience, the sector hopes to change buying habits in shops. The message is simple: this year’s potatoes may look different, but they are still good to eat. The success of this message will depend on how supermarkets set their quality rules for the 2026 crop.

Photo: A cone of fries (not France) (illustrative). Benoît Prieur / Wikimedia Commons, CC0