where did you see that ? i've very rarely seen that way of working despite i travel in France. the only area it is common is vineyards area , where the have slope and let the soils naked all along the year, and have money to haul it up!
it was done long time ago in the mountains area wher they didnt had flat soil to grow there own potatoes and wheat for auto-consumption.

most of the hill areas that are crops here (in france) now where dairy or breeding areas, they where put in crops by molboarding them since the fwa tractors appeared in the 1970's to the 1980's when the milk quantum laws applied (they where not allowed to produc emore milk in 1984 so they moldboarded pasture fields)

so those hills and slope have been only  tilled for 40 years, the erosion is here but nobody from the government can figure they should just promote no-till in slope to reduce the erosion by 95%

very hight lobbying of coops, farm machinery , fertilizer and chemicals company against no-till, they are frightned to loose on of the first market of inputs/acre in the world