The promise of a beautiful sunny afternoon in Béziers (Hérault), this Saturday, November 15, only lasted as long as the demonstrators gathered – 7,000 according to the organizers – on the Allée Paul-Riquet. After that? This is the warning of several voices given from the square in front of the theater, to demand a quick, that is, immediate, response from the public authorities so that the winegrowers of the south can survive the umpteenth crisis in the sector.
“There is a plan to get out of the crisis, which was put forward some time ago but we don’t have an answer,” worries Denis Verdier, president of the Cooperative Wine Institute (ICV) and Gard player in the sector for 40 years who describes a situation of unprecedented magnitude. “Regional production (Gard, Hérault, Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales) will fall to 10 million hectoliters compared to 14-15 million hectoliters in recent years,” he continued, calling for measures to restore market balance between supply and demand.
In this procession, visit the cellar of the Sérignan (Hérault) cooperative operating on 1,200 hectares of land is worried. They are good students in this sector but they can barely balance themselves. “It’s painful, we managed to get 4,400 euros per hectare, while our break-even point was 5,500 euros. And the bulk transaction offer of €75 per hectare was not enough. To be profitable, we needed 15 euros more,” explains Pierre Calmel, president.
“Without us, there are no more villages and landscapes”
To do this, we need to get a shelf price increase of about 20 cents from marketers. But even in times of crisis, the harsh laws of the market apply to the end… until production partners are in danger. “A profitable price is a must. Because without us, without the winegrowers, there would be no more villages and landscapes,” said Jérôme Despey, vice president of FNSEA, who is also a producer at Hérault, which launched “ Shut up, environmental crazies, and stay in Paris » to those who denigrate farmers and grape growers.
Jérôme Despey demands that the Minister of Agriculture immediately release 200 million euros (crisis reserves) and a European mechanism… And the pure and simple abolition of ANSES (National Health Security Agency). This is the list of complaints presented by the heads of the sectors this Saturday to the prefect Hérault François-Xavier Lauche, in the sub-prefecture of camps that were already entrenched before the meeting.
“Red alert is a real threat as grape imports increase,” added Damien Honoré, president of grape grower Aude, amid the chaos, like their Catalan neighbors, who were heavily present at the angry procession.
“In addition to market problems, we are experiencing huge production losses, much bigger than the major droughts that occurred in 2024 and 2023. Producers are desperate, cooperatives are on the verge of bankruptcy. We could lose at least 5,000 hectares, or a third of the production power, and we are already seeing a loss of land value,” said Denis Basserie, president of Safer (Rural Land and Settlement Development Corporation) from the Pyrénées-Orientales. So the wind of rebellion blew on the edge of the abyss. Everyone is warned.
