The hooded vandals focused an property owned by Grands Chais de France, which is the second-largest wine producer in France.
They used planks and tyres to set a storage unit on fireplace, and so they additionally opened 4 wine vats, two of which had been fully emptied.
The general public prosecutor in Narbonne stated the vandals left a ‘CAV’ tag on the property, which signifies that they’re a part of Comité d’motion viticole (Viticultural Motion Committee).
Additionally they wrote the inscription ‘viti en colère’ on the property in Aude, which roughly interprets to ‘viticulturalists are indignant’.
The general public prosecutor, which estimates the injury at €130,000 (£107,000), has opened an official investigation into the vandalism, which occurred on 30 November.
That is the newest in a string of symbolic protests towards the low costs that French growers are receiving for his or her grapes.
Final month, growers smashed bottles of Côtes-du-Rhône wine exterior Lidl shops within the Rhône valley. They had been indignant at wines being offered for simply €1.69 per bottle, arguing that supermarkets like Lidl are ‘destroying viticulture’.
The next week, growers blocked a motorway close to the border with Spain, intercepted lorries containing Spanish wine and emptied the tanks onto the street.
Union members have additionally been planning blockades of enormous distribution centres throughout the Languedoc-Roussillon area.
Now they’ve apparently educated their anger on a big negociant. Grand Chais de France is the second-largest producer in France and the nation’s largest wine exporter, with manufacturers together with Calvet and J.P. Chenet.
Frédéric Rouanet, president of the Syndicat des vignerons de l’Aude (Aude Winegrowers’ Union), instructed reporters at France 3 that he ‘doesn’t endorse’ the vandalism. Nonetheless, he added: ‘Some individuals are fed up, as a result of nothing is transferring ahead. We’re heading in direction of troublesome occasions, and I can think about that some folks find yourself doing this type of factor out of desperation.’
France is grappling with an oversupply disaster, as manufacturing has outstripped demand lately. That has pushed costs down and threatened the livelihoods of growers, a few of whom have responded with indignant protests.
In a bid to ease the disaster, the French authorities pays growers €109.8m to compensate them for uprooting 27,500 hectares of vineyards. This drastic measure is designed to scale back manufacturing, deal with the supply-demand imbalance and hopefully stabilise costs.
