Around thirty wine growers, at the call of the Young Farmers and the FDSEA, mobilized at the Lidl in Bagnols-sur-Cèze on Monday November 4 to protest against the prices of bottles of Côtes-du-Rhône wine which they consider too low.
Around thirty winegrowers mobilized Monday, November 4 in the morning, at the call of the Young Farmers' Union and the FDSEA (departmental federation of agricultural operators' unions) to protest against the prices of bottles of Côtes-du- Rhône displayed in the Lidl store in Bagnols-sur-Cèze which they consider too low. In the calm, the group stuck labels on the bottles in the wine section, bearing the words “#BalanceTaGD” and filled a trolley with bottles of their appellation. “It’s the caddy® shame” launched the president of the Young Farmers of Gard Romain Angelras and the president of the Côtes-du-Rhône general union Damien Gilles, at the head of this action that they wanted “without overflow”.
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“We chose Bagnols, because it is the capital of the Côtes-du-Rhône Gardoises. And at Lidl, the straw that broke the camel's back and launched the action was an indecent promotion that was made on a bottle of our appellation at 1.39 euros!” Romain Angelras said Monday morning. “We are here to raise awareness among supermarkets, ask them to play the game, and alert the consumer. Behind the bottle, there is work, families, suppliers… A whole economic chain. It’s a matter of a few cents “.
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“Des GMS (large and medium-sized areas) are playing the game, but with prices like those observed today, the other large stores will be forced to follow suit. It pulls the market down” explains the Gard president of Young Farmers. “The harvest is over, we are moving on to negotiations on the sales of our producers.”
“It’s not viable for an operator”
Monday, in the wine aisle, no promotion at 1.39 euros, but a bottle – the lowest price noted by the demonstrators – at 1.99 euros. “This is not the real price of a bottle of wine. We are well below the cost of producing a hectoliter of wine. For a winemaker, a basic bottle without the wine costs more than 1.10 euro, including the glass, the label, the packaging, the taxes… Everything is increasing but the sales prices are not increasing. This is not viable for an operator, especially in the current context where we have made small purchases. harvests” explains the union representative. “2025 is going to be very tough financially. More than 80% of farmers in Gard are losing money. Producers find themselves selling very low to make cash flow.”
“There is nothing on the shelves below 1.99 euros. I don’t have all the items” reacted the director of Lidl in Bagnols-sur-Cèze, Tony Da Silva, present on site Monday morning. “I don’t have control over the prices charged.”
“Our action is coordinated with another which is taking place at the same time in Vaucluse, in the same brand. I regret that it has come to this” underlines Damien Gilles, winegrower in Pont-Saint-Esprit. “These prices degrade our profession, our name. There is no recognition of the efforts that the public authorities ask us to make. Gard is very committed to initiatives for HVE (high environmental value), organic… “
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“Anger and dismay grow day by day”
After this “small action which is a distress call, we remain mobilized for other movements in November at the call of our national organizations” said Damien Angelras in front of the Bagnolais store. “I warn of other appellations, including the most prestigious, whose bottles are also sold at lower prices. Anger and dismay are growing day by day. The next actions could be less pacifist” warns Damien Gilles.
