French winegrowers protest as crisis deepens
Winegrowers marched through the streets of Béziers in southern France this weekend, demanding urgent government and EU support as the sector battles extreme weather conditions, soaring costs and falling sales.
Growers say extreme weather, rising production costs and falling sales are pushing many vineyards to the brink.
The protest, which took place on Saturday 15 November, was organised by the Aude winegrowers’ union, which is aligned with France’s main farmers’ organisation, the Fédération Nationale des Syndicats d’Exploitants Agricoles (FNSEA).
Damien Onorre, president of the Aude winegrowers’ union, told Le Monde: “For three years, we have suffered droughts and heat waves above 40°C. I have lost 50% of my production over this period.”
It comes after France’s farm ministry lowered its projection for this year’s wine output to 36 million hectolitres in October, down from the 37.4 million forecast last month and 1% below last year’s harvest, citing a heatwave in August.
The revised forecast, based on the latest harvest results, was 16% below the five-year average.
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Historic route
The protest followed a historic route: the same streets where the great wine revolt of 1907 unfolded – one of the largest French social movements of the 20th century. On 12 May 1907, a massive rally took place in Béziers with up to 150,000 demonstrators in attendance.
Producers say the crisis is being fuelled not only by extreme climate events but also by soaring costs. Energy prices have driven production expenses to double or even triple, while wine prices have remained stagnant. Many growers say their businesses are now unprofitable.
Winegrower Fabrien Mariscal told France 24: “Since I started in 2016, we’ve had at least one climate related disaster every single year, sometimes two, three or even four. That’s lead to significant drops in yield. Over the past two or three years, I’ve lost between 70% to 80% of my harvest because of extreme weather.”
Tough situation
Producers also point to rising customs duties and shrinking sales as aggravating the crisis.
Fabien Castelbou, vice-president of the Occitanie winegrowers’ cooperative, told France 24: “There’s mounting anger, because wine growers just can’t make ends meet anymore. We can’t live off our work. With falling yields year-to-year, we’re not making any profit.”
Growers say they will continue to press for emergency aid, warning that without swift intervention, large parts of France’s wine-growing heritage could disappear, with many businesses being forced to shut down.
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