Rice is the staple food for over half of the world population and in terms of areas under cultivation it is second only to wheat. In the region of Arles rice is the element that shapes the landscape and balances the ecosystem: without rice the region would be easily transformed in a big salt desert. Despite the fact that rice represents the flagship of the region nowadays, it’s only in the early 20th century that started to play a crucial role in the local economy. Especially during WW II for the first time rice cultivation appeared to be strategic to face the food crisis. However official discourses always forget to mention the very important fact that is thanks to the know-how, the deep culture and the work of Indochinese workers recruited and forced to work in the french fields during the Vichy government if Arles and its region can be identified as the rice belt of France.