the essential
The day after the demonstration in Carcassonne which brought together more than 2,500 people, the president of the Aude winegrowers' union, Frédéric Rouanet, considers that the scale of the mobilization is proportional to the distress affecting the profession.
Frédéric Rouanet, despite the fact that such mobilization is indicative of a deep malaise among winegrowers, is delighted that the Aude winegrowers' union which he chairs, succeeded in mobilizing around 2,500 this Saturday, November 30 people to Carcassonne in eight days. “It is only us, in Aude, who can do this” he admits.
The day after this gathering, he believes that the profession “has succeeded in putting pressure on, especially with regard to the fact that the price of wine must absolutely increase”. Regarding the continuation of the movement, he believes that it is too early to make announcements. “Meetings have been made with the traders, we will see what they come up with”he said. “We do not regret the decision to have organized this demonstration. We took our responsibilities. Afterwards, we held demonstrations, but things are hardly moving forward concretely”adds the union leader.
A movement that could spread
According to him, if nothing changes, “we will have to continue, with a movement, why not, extended to the regional scale”. Beyond trading, strong actions from the government are expected. “There are possibilities, by acting within the authorized margins, such as the Evin law…”says Frédéric Rouanet.
The situation is, according to him, worse than last year for Aude viticulture. This explains the action carried out in Fabrezan by the wine action committee during the evening of this Saturday, November 30. “I cannot condone this type of action. But I warn that it is a sign of the despair and anger of an agricultural sector, of men and women, in great suffering”declares the president of the winegrowers’ union.
Beyond that, he also calls for a form of local solidarity, particularly from catering professionals who buy wine at a low price and resell it at the price of a menu, which “inevitably and mechanically leads to a drop in consumption”. All eyes are therefore turned towards trading, the Ministry of Agriculture and restaurants. If nothing changes, we can foresee that the mobilization will grow further.
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