An investigation is underway in the French department of Champagne into the inhumane conditions in which seasonal workers toiled during the grape harvest. The case concerning the use of Ukrainians during the same 2023 harvest, which was marked by extreme heat and the deaths of four grape pickers, is also under the scrutiny of French law enforcement and judicial authorities, AFP reports, writes UNN.
Details
The court sentenced the director of a service company called Anavim, a Kyrgyz woman in her forties, to two years in prison and another two years suspended. She denied responsibility for the living conditions and blamed two other defendants, who were suspected of recruiting the pickers.
The court also sentenced two others, both men in their thirties, to one year in prison with suspended sentences.
All three were found guilty of human trafficking, which under French law is defined as "recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving a person for their exploitation," through forced labor, abuse of power, abuse of a vulnerable situation, or in exchange for payment or benefits.
The director of Anavim was also found guilty of crimes, including concealing the employment of workers.
The court in Châlons-en-Champagne dissolved the company and ordered the wine cooperative with which it worked to pay a fine of 75,000 euros. The court ordered the three guilty parties to pay 4,000 euros to each victim.
The lawyer for the victims – more than 50 mostly undocumented migrant workers from Mali, Mauritania, Côte d'Ivoire, and Senegal – stated that the court had made a "historic" decision. The victims, who claimed they were treated "like slaves," also praised the court's decision.
People worked in very bad conditions, and this decision is fair, said Amadou Diallo, a 39-year-old resident of Senegal.
For her part, the lawyer for the director of Anavim called the decision "unfair" and stated that an appeal would be filed.
My client is the perfect scapegoat for an industry that has long turned a blind eye to its own actions
Maxime Cessieux, the victims' lawyer, said that the 2025 harvest "will be thoroughly checked, and no one will be able to say: 'I didn't understand, I didn't know who these people were in my vineyards'".
In September 2023, a labor inspection found that the accommodation provided by Anavim to grape pickers southwest of Reims "seriously undermined" their safety, health, and dignity.
Subsequently, the prefecture closed the accommodation, citing improvised bedding and the "appalling state of the toilets and common areas."
Camara Siku, one of the victims, told the court that the workers were treated "like slaves."
We were placed in an abandoned building, without food, without water, without anything, added Modibo Sidibe, who said that the workers were in the fields from 5:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Comité Champagne, which represents grape growers and Champagne houses, was a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
You don't play with the health and safety of seasonal workers. We also don't play with the image of our appellation
The Champagne CGT union stated that the punishment was insufficient.
We demand a reduction in the quality of the harvest in areas where offenses were committed, so that it can no longer be used for Champagne production
Every year, about 120,000 seasonal workers are employed to harvest grapes grown on 34,000 hectares (84,000 acres) in the Champagne region.
Labor exploitation of Ukrainians
In 2023, four grape pickers died, possibly from heatstroke after working in scorching heat.
In November, a service provider and its manager will face trial on suspicion of holding 40 Ukrainians in unsuitable conditions.
Addition
Russians arrested Ukrainian Yevhen Ilchenko for running a Telegram channel about occupied Melitopol. He was tortured and forced into slave labor, including digging trenches for Russian soldiers.