Thanks to Lloyd Spear for his response to my query re: concerns of
beekeepers in France.  His remarks were exactly  what we talked about !
(Topics below)
  Their concerns were:
> - Varroa
> - An insecticide used on sunflowers that is "confusing" bees, so that
their
> homing instinct is interrupted and they cannot find the way back to the
> beehive.  (The insecticide in question cannot be used in the US.)
> - How to avoid the increasing amounts of canola (rape) that is being
grown.
> The resulting honey is granulating in the comb, making extraction very
> difficult and ruining comb honey production.