French wine makers have destroyed crate-loads of Spanish sparkling wine in protest over cheap imports of booze from the neighbouring country.
Protesters stopped several trucks importing wines from Spain at the Le Bolou tollbooth just 10 miles from the southern border between France and Spain this morning.
They destroyed several wine shipments by smashing the bottles and pouring the wine onto the road. Some even flicked open the tap on a Spanish lorry, which caused red wine to gush onto the motorway.
The furious winemakers also piled up several crates of tomatoes and tyres to set them on fire.
The protest is part of the ‘economic war against economic criminals who abuse ruined winegrowers’, according to Frederic Rouanet, the president of a local syndicate of winemakers.
Protesters destroyed several wine shipments by smashing the bottles (pictured) and pouring the wine onto the road
The protest, which saw the street painted red due to the spilled wine (pictured above) is part of the ‘economic war against economic criminals who abuse ruined winegrowers’, according to Frederic Rouanet, the president of a local syndicate of winemakers
The protesters smashed several crates of Freixenet bottles
Some even sprizzed the Spanish sparkling wine as the floor was soaked in wine and foam
After opening the tab on a lorry, gallons of red wine spilled onto the road
The furious winemakers also piled up several crates of tomatoes and tyres to set them on fire (pictured here)
In videos posted on social media platform X, protesters (pictured) can be seen tumbling over crates of Freixenet wine, who crash into puddles of white wine and foam as soon as they hit the road
‘We are going to take away the possibility of being able to import foreign wines,’ he added.
Winemakers from the local area were among the protesters, which were mostly left alone by police, according to French newspaper Vitisphere.
In videos posted on social media platform X, protesters can be seen tumbling over crates of Freixenet wine, who crash into puddles of white wine and foam as soon as they hit the road.
They also piled up hundreds of cardboard crates carrying Spanish tomatoes and lit them on fire.
Some threw more and more boxes into the flames, which quickly developed into grey smoke rising several feet high.
Protesters also set a pile of tyres on fire, which billowed black smoke into the air and could be seen from several miles away.
A video from the scene shows flames eating through the rubber as two fire trucks attend and firefighters get ready to extinguish the blaze.
Protesters also set a pile of tyres on fire, which billowed black smoke into the air (pictured) and could be seen from several miles away
They also piled up hundreds of cardboard crates carrying Spanish tomatoes and lit them on fire
Protesters stopped several trucks importing wines from Spain at the Bolou tollbooth near the southern border between France and Spain this morning
Some threw more and more boxes into the flames, which quickly developed into grey smoke rising several feet high
Before the protest escalated, a delegation of winegrowers of different local syndicates and trade unions met to discuss the cheap Spanish imports that threaten to put French winemakers out of business.
This comes after it was reported in August that the French government is set to pour away millions of litres of wine – and will even rip up vineyards – in a bid to stem tumbling prices after falling sales.
Production has continued to rise, leading to a glut of unsold wine threatening to push down prices.
Major wine-producing regions, particularly the famed Bordeaux area of France, are struggling.
The French government has announced a £170 million plan to buy up huge quantities of the excess, which will be destroyed.
The alcohol content will be recycled to make hand sanitiser, cleaning products or perfume.
French agriculture minister Marc Fesneau said the fund was ‘aimed at stopping prices collapsing and so that wine-makers can find sources of revenue again’.
But he stressed that the industry needed to ‘look to the future, think about consumer changes… and adapt’.
Protesters emptied out the truck and threw the boxes of tomatoes onto the road
Protesters even grabbed individual packets of tomatoes and and smashed them on the floor
Figures from the European Commission say wine consumption for the current year is estimated to have fallen 15 per cent in France, seven per cent in Italy, ten per cent in Spain, and a staggering 34 per cent in Portugal.
However, production in the EU has risen by four per cent.
The Commission said the worst affected areas were those producing reds and rosés from regions of France, Spain and Portugal.
Spanish importers try and beat their French competition by offering cheaper prices, threatening the livelihoods of many French winemakers.
This is not the first time French winegrowers made a statement against cheap imports by destroying wine.
French producers have been furious that their traditional rivals in Spain – and also Italy – are exporting hundreds of millions of litres of cut-price wine that threaten their livelihoods for years.
Dozens took to the roads at Le Bolou in 2016, stopping Spanish tankers and then emptying their wine on to the roads.
Rouanet confirmed back then that four tankers were emptied, with 70,000 litres of wine wasted.
His fellow protesters scrawled graffiti on the side of the Spanish trucks, with slogans including ‘wine not compliant’ – they believe the Spanish wine is sub-standard and not produced in accordance with European regulations.
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