The hooded vandals targeted an estate 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 fire, and they also opened four wine vats, two of which were completely emptied.
The public prosecutor in Narbonne said the vandals left a ‘CAV’ tag on the property, which indicates that they are part of Comité d’action viticole (Viticultural Action Committee).
They also wrote the inscription ‘viti en colère’ at the estate in Aude, which roughly translates to ‘viticulturalists are angry’.
The public prosecutor, which estimates the damage at €130,000 (£107,000), has opened an official investigation into the vandalism, which occurred on 30 November.
This is the latest in a string of symbolic protests against the low prices that French growers are receiving for their grapes.
Last month, growers smashed bottles of Côtes-du-Rhône wine outside Lidl stores in the Rhône valley. They were angry at wines being sold for just €1.69 per bottle, arguing that supermarkets like Lidl are ‘destroying viticulture’.
The following week, growers blocked a motorway near the border with Spain, intercepted lorries containing Spanish wine and emptied the tanks onto the road.
Union members have also been planning blockades of large distribution centres across the Languedoc-Roussillon region.
Now they have apparently trained their anger on a large negociant. Grand Chais de France is the second-largest producer in France and the country’s largest wine exporter, with brands including Calvet and J.P. Chenet.
Frédéric Rouanet, president of the Syndicat des vignerons de l’Aude (Aude Winegrowers’ Union), told reporters at France 3 that he ‘does not endorse’ the vandalism. However, he added: ‘Some people are fed up, because nothing is moving forward. We are heading towards difficult times, and I can imagine that some people end up doing this kind of thing out of desperation.’
France is grappling with an oversupply crisis, as production has outstripped demand in recent years. That has pushed prices down and threatened the livelihoods of growers, some of whom have responded with angry protests.
In a bid to ease the crisis, the French government will pay growers €109.8m to compensate them for uprooting 27,500 hectares of vineyards. This drastic measure is designed to reduce production, address the supply-demand imbalance and hopefully stabilise prices.
