French winemakers began an “economic war” against Spanish competitors

In the French border town of Le Boulou, nearly 500 winemakers protested against unfair competition from the Spanish by stealing trucks with hundreds of cases of wine and smashing them.

"Sky News" writes about it.

Protesters have declared an "economic war" because the price of their wine cannot compete with the low price of Spanish wine.

The head of the winegrowersʼ union of the Aude region Frédéric Ruanet added that now "we are going to eliminate the possibility for buyers to get cheap wines from other places... we are going to stop imports from Spain."

According to one of the winemakers who took part in the protest, the Spanish have the right to use chemicals when growing grapes, which lowers the value of the wine, unlike the French. Therefore, on average, a liter of Spanish wine costs €4, and French — €8.

Frédéric Ruanet also stated that "the government bears a great deal of responsibility for the fall in wine consumption and that it must give us appropriate compensation."

• France will spend €200 million to dispose of surplus wine due to falling demand. This alcohol will be purchased and used in hand sanitizers, detergents and perfumes.
• Thousands of vineyards are also being uprooted in France, because winemaking has faced problems: global warming and changing consumer habits. People buy less wine and prefer, in particular, craft beer.