The French butcher who cuts and tresses your meat with care, and serves as city dwellers' link to the land, is falling on hard times, unable to find new blood to keep his iconic image alive — as supermarkets and Arab butchers selling halal meat at cheaper prices thrive.

The changes in this age-old industry reflect profound economic and societal shifts gnawing at France's core, and have catapulted the butcher shop into the debate before presidential elections in April and May.

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