Wine floods French town as protest group vandalise local merchant’s store

The streets of a southern French town were flooded with wine as a protest group cracked open vats, spilling thousands of litres, local media reported.

The streets of a southern French town were flooded with wine as a protest group broke open vats, spilling thousands of litres, local media reported.

A militant group of French wine producers vandalised a store in Sete, a port town in France, emptying vats of wine on to the streets in protest. (Midi Libre)

Basements and nearby homes were flooded in Sete, a port town in Languedoc-Roussillon, one of France’s biggest wine producing regions.

Emergency services were called in to control the deluge that spilled into underground car parks as well.

The vandalism was claimed by the Regional Action Committee of Winemakers (CRAV), a militant group of French winemakers, media reports said.

In the past, Crav has claimed several attacks, apparently alarmed by the rise in cheap wine imports to France.

“Why this action? Because we are never listened to,” a CRAV representative told France 3, adding the imported tipple was being marketed at prices that were driving them out of business.

Earlier this year, French farmers had seized Spanish lorries and drained their cargo of wine, leading to the French ambassador being summoned by Spain.