Three people and two companies went on trial in France on Thursday accused of forcing dozens of African migrants to live and work in squalid conditions during last year’s grape harvest in the Champagne region.
The victims – mostly from Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire – were hired in Paris and transported to the Marne region by vineyard labour subcontractor Anavim.
In September 2023, police responding to a neighbour’s complaint found nearly 60 workers living in cramped, unsanitary housing in the village of Nesle-le-Repons.
The house had just two toilets, no hot water and exposed electrical wiring. Shared kitchen and living areas were outdoors and left open to the weather. Many workers slept on dirty mattresses or directly on the floor.
One of the workers, Kanouté Mody, told the Catholic daily La Croix that he had responded to a WhatsApp message offering well-paid work.
“We have paid to go work in hell,” he said, adding that each person gave 10 euros to board the bus to Champagne.
Another worker, Mamadou, told the news magazine Politis there was no drinking water on arrival.
“We had to wait 48 hours before they finally brought us a pack of water. For 56 people,” he said. “They took us to the vineyards crammed 10 in vans without windows, from 7am to 6pm. We worked like animals.”
Workers were promised 80 euros a day, but none received payment. Those who asked for a break were threatened with knives, according to the same report.
French champagne makers under pressure to protect pickers after harvest deaths
Human trafficking charges
The trial opened Thursday at the criminal court in Châlons-en-Champagne. The accused include Anavim’s director – a woman originally from Kyrgyzstan – along with two associates, one French and one Georgian. A vineyard cooperative is also being prosecuted as a legal entity.
They face charges of human trafficking, employing foreign nationals without permits, and housing workers in conditions that prosecutors say harmed their “security, health and dignity”.
At a press conference on Monday, public prosecutor Annick Browne said the building failed to meet even basic safety standards. Local officials shut the site down in 2023 after labour inspectors described it as “dilapidated” and “disgusting”.
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Every year, around 120,000 seasonal workers are brought in to pick grapes across the Champagne region’s 34,000 hectares of vineyards. In 2023, the industry came under scrutiny after four harvesters died, reportedly from heatstroke during extreme temperatures.
For the first time, the Comité Champagne – representing 16,200 growers and 370 champagne houses – has joined proceedings as a civil party. In a statement released in March, its director, Charles Goemaere, said the organisation was “firmly opposed to these unacceptable practices”.
The victims’ lawyer, Maxime Cessieux, told daily Le Parisien the accused had shown “total contempt” for human dignity.
David Desgranges, vice-president of the Committee Against Modern Slavery, said in comments reported by the French news agency AFP that “the public should be made aware of the extent of human trafficking in the agricultural sector” and that producers should understand “they may face legal procedures”.