French Police Break Out The ‘Champagne’ By Destroying 35,000 Fake Bubblies
Authorities in France recently announced they destroyed nearly 35,000 bottles of “champagne,” after it was found that the falsely-labeled bottles violated the country’s strict naming regulations.
It turns out the crates of supposed bubbly were discovered back in October 2021 in the northern port of Le Havre, bearing the name ‘Couronne Fruit Champagne’ and hailing from Haiti.
These drinks were meant to be sold in France but failed to adhere to a law that only allows sparkling wine from the region of Champagne to use the name. Last year, the Paris Court of Justice found that the labeling of these bottles in question was likely to “infringe the Champagne-protected designation of origin.”
Les douaniers du #Havre empêchent l’importation illégale de 34 499 bouteilles de contrefaçon de #Champagne.
— Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects (@douane_france) May 25, 2023
👉ces bouteilles contrefaisaient l'appellation d'origine protégée
Communiqué ⤵https://t.co/TfqeuMq3Tm pic.twitter.com/zKBNSzJMhs
According to the BBC, Charles Goemaere, Director-General of the Champagne Committee, said it was important to have the bottles destroyed as the unofficial use of the title weakens the reputation of the laws, citing the fight against abuse of the name started in 1844 and “hasn’t stopped since.”
As per Forbes, in 2021 alone, French officials removed over 200,000 counterfeit products from the market, including delicacies such as Italian Parmesan and British Stilton blue cheese, which are also protected with similar naming rights.
[via Robb Report and WION, cover photo 7544368 © Gualtiero Boffi | Dreamstime.com]
