Some french butchers are giving away meat in an attempt to regain public confidence in their products 
They're hoping locals will cast aside mounting fears in france over bse the deadly brain wasting disease in cattle and its human equivalent variant creutzfeldt jakob disease 
When asked if she was afraid of bse or as it's commonly known mad cow disease michele nicolas said it didn't scare her at all music to the ears of today's sponsors 
The bse panic broke out in france in october when it was revealed that potentially contaminated meat from a herd in which one bse case had been identified had been put on sale in supermarkets 
France's agriculture ministry announced four new cases of bse in cattle last friday bringing this year's total to over 120 cases more than four times the figure for 1999 
Cases have also been reported in britain ireland and belgium and most recently in germany 
European union ministers reacting to europe wide concerns last week announced a six month ban on the use of meat and bone meal in all animal fodder