Labor abuses, tariffs cloud the sector
Bulgarian grape harvesters work at the Chateau de Meursault vineyards in Meursault in the Burgundy region of central-eastern France on August 26, 2025. (Photo: ARNAUD FINISTRE / AFP) (Photo: ARNAUD FINISTRE/AFP via Getty Images)
Arnaud Finistre | Afp | Getty Images
It will come as no surprise that champagne sales are at their peak as Christmas and New Year approach and French soda is the choice of many households during the festive season.
Every year, approximately 120,000 seasonal workers come to work in France and harvest grapes on 34,000 hectares of vines. Harvest lasts only a few weeks, making it a crazy time for the industry.
However, when it came to this business, a darker side of the industry emerged; Recent reports highlight the exploitation and mistreatment of champagne grape pickers, who are mostly foreigners and undocumented immigrants.
During an extreme heat wave in the late summer of 2023, at least four migrant grape pickers, or “vendors” as they were known, died in what has since been dubbed the “harvest of shame.”
The case highlighted broader substandard working and housing conditions for pickers, including excessive working hours, low pay, and a lack of safety equipment and protocols such as adequate hydration and breaks.
The scandal over working conditions and welfare emerged at a difficult time for the industry as a whole; Harvest in 2024 sees below-average yield Due to spring frosts and summer rainy periods this only decreased towards the end of the growing season, almost “saving” the harvest.
The 2025 harvest fared better and was praised for its high-quality crop thanks to warm weather conditions.
However, this year’s sales, which will be announced in January, are expected to be further negatively affected by the import duties imposed by the USA on goods coming from the EU. Caused champagne shipments to the US to decline.
‘Clearly ill-treatment’
The dark side of the champagne industry came to light when at least four migrant grape pickers died during the 2023 harvest, which took place during an extreme heat wave.
Seasonal workers harvest grapes in vineyards in the AOC (Appellation d’origine contrôlée) Champagne region in Châtillon-sur-Marne, France, on September 14, 2023.
Thierry Monasse | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Then, in the summer of 2025, three people were tried for human trafficking and exploitation of more than 50 West African migrant workers during the 2023 harvest.
Victims reported being treated “like slaves” and “animals” and housed in “hellish” and unsanitary conditions with no clean drinking water. In the case, the labor inspectorate said that such conditions endanger the safety, health and dignity of workers.
Unscrupulous recruitment practices also came to light during the case, as the defendants were affiliated with an employment agency that provided workers to the industry; This suggests that Champagne companies widely use subcontractors and employment agencies or more informal channels to recruit grape pickers.
The defendants were convicted and sentenced to fines and imprisonment, while unions said the use of “middlemen” and agents enabled Champagne houses to turn a blind eye to illegal working practices.
“We cannot accept that uncontrolled subcontracting and blatant mistreatment lie behind a bottle of champagne,” the prosecutor commented in the summary of the case heard in the Châlons-en-Champagne criminal court.
sales challenges
Comité Champagne, the overarching trade body for France’s Champagne industry, which represents more than 16,000 winegrowers, 130 cooperatives and 370 Champagne houses, acknowledged the case had damaged the industry’s reputation and said it would take a “zero tolerance” approach to any future misconduct.
Comité co-chairs David Chatillon and Maxime Toubart said: “We had to stand with the victims. You are not toying with the health and safety of seasonal workers. You are also not toying with the image of our title.” He told Le Monde newspaper After the hearing in July.
The Comité has launched the “Together for the Champagne Harvest” action plan to ensure improved worker health and safety protocols and worker accommodation, as well as harvest regulations.
A French General Confederation of Labor (CGT) union member distributes leaflets informing seasonal grape pickers, mostly foreign workers, about their labor rights at a Champagne vineyard in Igny-Comblizy, eastern France, on September 19, 2024.
François Nascimbeni | Afp | Getty Images
Champagne vineyards and businesses were eager to demonstrate their dedication to the welfare of workers. Moët & Chandon is the world’s largest producer and part of LVMHIn 2024, it invested 1.5 million euros ($1.76 million) in new accommodation for an additional 90 grape pickers, increasing its total accommodation supply capacity to 1,900 beds.
CNBC asked Comité Champagne whether outreach measures have been fully implemented by member organizations since they were proposed, but has not yet received a response. CNBC also contacted several unions about the reforms, including the CGT workers’ union and the SGV Champagne growers’ union, but received no response.
There is no doubt that it is a difficult time for the wider industry; 2024’s harvest sees below-average yields Due to spring frosts and summer rainy periods this decreased only towards the end of the growing season; He almost “saved” the harvest. The 2025 harvest fared better and was praised for its high-quality crop thanks to warm weather conditions.
Synonymous with northeastern France, Champagne accounts for 10% of the world’s sparkling wine production by volume and up to 35% of the global market value of sparkling wine. However, sales have declined in recent years due to a decline in global demand and a decline in alcohol consumption.
Champagne shipments in 2023 (usually a mix of several years’ harvests) Total reached 299 million bottlesIt decreased by 8.2% compared to the previous year. 271 million bottles were shipped in 2024, According to Comité Champagne data. This year’s sales face additional headwinds from import duties imposed by the United States on goods from the EU.
The industry has also faced challenges from within, with the CGT workers union at LVMH’s Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot’s champagne units calling for workers to strike in December over the cancellation of year-end bonuses and demands for better pay.
A spokesperson for Moët & Chandon told CNBC that it would not comment on the dispute, but that negotiations on the fee would take place in early 2026, adding “we cannot comment before negotiations.”
If sales continue to decline, the treatment of seasonal pickers will be just one of the challenges the industry will face.
