France Wages Wine-War on Spain; Dumps Roughly 90,000 Bottles of Spanish Wine Into Streets

French winemakers claim the Spanish then sell the wine at low prices, sharking the France-made wine.
France Wages Wine-War on Spain; Dumps Roughly 90,000 Bottles of Spanish Wine Into Streets
French winemakers open the tap of a Spanish truck's wine tanker on April 4, 2016 in Le Boulon, ten kilometers forms the French-Spanish border, during a demonstration against southern countries' wine imports. RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty
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“Unfair competition” is the 150 French vintners’ claim as to why they attacked a massive wine shipment headed into France from Spain on April 4.

The assailants attached five tankers, unscrewing the trucks’ caps and pouring the red and white wine directly into the street—estimated to be a whopping 90,000 bottle equivalent.

French winemakers watch wine flowing from the tap of a Spanish truck's tanker on April 4, 2016 in Le Boulon, 10 kilometers from the French-Spanish border, during a demonstration against southern countries' wine imports. (Raymond Roig/AFP/Getty)
French winemakers watch wine flowing from the tap of a Spanish truck's tanker on April 4, 2016 in Le Boulon, 10 kilometers from the French-Spanish border, during a demonstration against southern countries' wine imports. Raymond Roig/AFP/Getty

After contacting the French ambassador, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said the rampage was a violation of EU rules, which allows goods from union states to move freely throughout.

Some of France’s winemakers disagree.

[The Spanish] have no place in France.
Denis Pigouche, winemaker association president

According to a Foreign Policy report, Denis Pigouche, president of a Pyrenees-Orientales winemaker association, told reporters that the Spanish “have no place in France.”

This incident comes after a recent report that the French are the number one importers of Spanish wine; a wine that French winemakers believe is of poor quality, the FP report said.

French winemakers claim the Spanish sell the wine at low prices, sharking the France-made wine—taking away business from the “authentic” product, according to the report.

The demonstrators, claiming that the cheap wine from Spain represent an unfair competition for French wines, stopped the Spanish trucks carrying wine, and partially or totally emptied their tankers. (RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty)
The demonstrators, claiming that the cheap wine from Spain represent an unfair competition for French wines, stopped the Spanish trucks carrying wine, and partially or totally emptied their tankers. RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty

The report also says that on that same day, three other trucks were stopped but let go half-full after the vintners painted “non-compliant wine” in French on the side. They allegedly took samples of the wine, testing it and proving accusations that their wine is mixed with Latin American products without advertising. 

(RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty)
RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty