French farmers' attack on Spanish wine loads 'just the beginning'

Farm unions and the foreign ministry in Madrid have appealed to the EU after French farmers took control of two Spanish lorries and dumped their loads this week.

The farmers attacked several Spanish trucks on Monday at a toll barrier at Le Boulou in southern France in what they said was a protest against unfair competition.

The farmers then dumped the wine the vehicles were transporting, according to the Spanish Federation of Freight Transportation (CETM).

"These incidents, which are occurring all too frequently, are grounds for concern for the Government of Spain," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Spain has already officially passed on its protest to the French authorities, and urges them to adopt all appropriate measures to guarantee, with absolute security, the free movement of people and goods, one of the basic principles of the European Union."

In July, Madrid issued a similar protest after French farmers ransacked Spanish trucks carrying milk and meat.

French farmers have been furious over falling food prices, which they blame on foreign competition as well as supermarkets and distributors.

French farmers estimate that around 10 percent of farms in France - approximately 22,000 operations - are on the brink of bankruptcy with a combined debt of €1billion ($1.14 billion).

“If a French wine maker produced wine with Spanish rules, he simply wouldn’t be able to sell it,” said Frédéric Rouanet, the president of the Aude winemakers’ union.

“Europe’s all very well, but with the same rules for all.”

Rouanet added that the tanker hijack was “just the beginning” and the French farmers are now ready to protest in the nearby port of Sète against the import of Italian wines.

“We will continue until we’ve proved that the illegal traffic of wine is going on. We are going to protect our consumers. You can trace our wine from the vineyards to the bottle and those same rules should apply to all,” the farmer said.