The grape garnishing conditions in the French Champagne business are at the heart of the human trafficking trial opened in the eastern city of Reims.
Three people – a woman from Kyrgyzstan, a man from Georgia and a Frenchman – were accused of exploiting more than 50 seasonal workers, mainly from West Africa.
During the harvest in September 2023, staff were found in a building in Nesle-Le-Repons, the heart of Champagne Island, under narrow and unsanitary conditions.
They were recruited through the information from the WhatsApp team, which is a commitment to the Soningque community in West Africa living in Paris, which promises “high-paying jobs” in the Champagne area.
At that time, there were 16 to 65 years old, with 48 men and 9 women from Mali, Mauritania, Ivory Coast and Senegal. Many are attending Thursday’s trial.
“They yelled us in Russia and stuffed us into the broken house with mattresses on the floor,” Kanouitié Djakariayou, 44, told the La Croix newspaper.
“There is no clean water, the only food is a bowl of rice and rotten sandwiches.
“I never thought that the people who make champagne would put us in a place that even animals wouldn’t accept.”
Doumbia Mamadou, 45, told local newspaper L’Union.
A week later, local resident inspectors visited the site and, in the words of state prosecutor Annick Browne, documented conditions that “seriously violated the safety, health and dignity of the occupants.”
Prosecutors said the living and eating areas were not outside and were not protected by elements. The toilet is dirty; there is insufficient showers, only intermittent hot water. Electrical is a safety hazard.
In addition, immigrants worked ten hours a day, with only 30 minutes of lunch, and were transported to the vineyards at the back of the truck. According to the prosecution, they did not have a written contract and the salary they received was “not related to the work performed.”
“The defendants completely ignore human dignity,” said Maxime Cessieux, who represents some immigrants.
The 44-year-old female suspect, named Svetlana G., runs a recruitment agency called Anavim, which specializes in finding labor for the wine industry. The other two are her colleagues.
In addition to allegations of trafficking in humans, the woman was charged with undeclared labor, hiring foreigners without permission, underpaid and recruiting vulnerable groups under unsuitable conditions. The three will face up to seven years in prison and fined if convicted.
The case raises questions about the extent of exploitation of workers in the 6 billion euro (£5.1 billion) champagne industry. Every grape must be hand-picked, and producers rely on about 120,000 seasonal workers each fall, many of whom are recruited through institutions.
Six grape picky men died of suspected heat stroke during harvest in Champagne and Bocholay areas in 2023 – in recent years, there have been two other criminal cases found to be guilty of immigrant abuse Harvest.
The union said some champagne houses were hidden behind the middlemen and they wanted the law to change so that producers would even use the “champagne” label indirectly if found to have used illegal labor.
“It is impossible to harvest the grapes of champagne using human suffering,” said Jose Blanco of CGT Union.
But the main body representing the champagne producer – Coney Champagne – said that abuse of workers rarely occurs and when found, it is stopped immediately.
The committee represented the civil plaintiffs at trial in recognition of the “damage” of these “unacceptable practices” to the brand.
