FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy said he wants to see French cuisine listed as a world heritage item by the United Nations.
"Agriculture and the jobs which produce it every day are the source of our country's gastronomic diversity. It is an essential element of our heritage," Mr Sarkozy said at the opening of France's huge annual agriculture show in Paris.
"That is why I want France to be the first country to apply to UNESCO for our gastronomic tradition to be recognised as a world heritage," Mr Sarkozy said.
"We have the best gastronomy in the world," he said.