Moment French winemakers pour GALLONS of Spanish red over road & destroy crates of booze in protest over cheap imports
CRATES of booze were destroyed and gallons of Spanish red were poured all over the road amid a protest today.
The shocking scenes came as French winemakers halted lorries carrying the goods, smashing all their precious cargo and emptying the alcohol-filled trailers.
The protest unfolded at a tollbooth just ten miles from France’s border with Spain, as campaigners fought cheap booze being brought into their country.
Photos showed the red liquor gushing onto the tarmac after one protestor turned on the lorry’s tap, as the masses watched the scenes unfold.
Other snaps showed the protestors inside the lorries, shoving out dozens of crates carrying bubbly.
Mountains of boxes and smashed bottles littered the road.
One man even took to the boxes with a hammer, seeing even more wine wasted.
The fuming winemakers could be seen with phones in hand, filming the chaos as it unfolded.
The protest was said to have blocked traffic for some time.
Frederic Rouanet, the president of a local syndicate of winemakers who organised the protest, said the demonstration comes as part of the “economic war against economic criminals who abuse ruined winegrowers”.
MailOnline reported he said: “We are going to take away the possibility of being able to import foreign wines.”
The protestors also went on to smash dozens of packs of tomatoes and set them alight.
It comes France’s main wine-producing regions are struggling.
The French government has now announced a £170million plan to buy up huge quantities of the excess – turning the booze into hand sanitiser, cleaning products or perfume.