THE French are expected to consume several hundred tonnes of Irish salmon, mussels and pacific oysters over the next couple of weeks.

The giant French retail chain Auchan is launching the biggest ever promotion of Irish seafood in France to coincide with the France/Ireland rugby match in Paris this weekend.

Speaking at the launch of the promotion by Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Minister for the Marine Mr Sean Barrett said the promotion represented a significant breakthrough for Irish exporters in one of the largest seafood markets in Europe.

France is already Ireland's number one export market for seafood with annual sales of around £47 million, representing almost 40,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish.