2023 Grape Harvest of Shame
The 2023 Grape Harvest of Shame is the name given to a labor explotation case that took place during the 2023 Champagne grape harvest in the Champagne region, France. Fifty-seven mostly undocumented West African workers were tricked into the job with false promises, brought to the Champagne region where they were mistreated, living in overcrowded and dirty conditions, with little food and water, and forced to work. the trial is held at the criminal court of Châlons-en-Champagne.
Name origin
[edit]The phrase "Harvest of Shame" origins from a 1960 documentry of the same name, by Edward R. Murrow that aired on CBS televbision. revealing the poor working condition of migrant farmworkers in the United States.[1][2][3] The name of the case, is based on this phrase.[4]
Background
[edit]On September 2023 the French police began an investigation following complaints from the neighbouring village of Nesle-le-Repons contacted them, reporting of noise and activity in an abandoned house during the September 2023 grape harvest.[5][6] The police found 57 undocumented workers at the site, most of them from Mali, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, and Senegal, but all held in inhumane conditions. The living spaces were overcrowded, with unsafe electrical wiring, blocked and unusable toilets, a lack of proper sanitation and potable water, and inadequate, spoiled food provisions.[7][6][5]
Case details
[edit]The case that began in june 2025, is described as "one of the biggest labour scandals to hit France’s exclusive sparkling wine industry",[5] three individuals and two companies are facing charges of human traficking and employing foreign nationals without permits, and housing workers in conditions that prosecutors say harmed their "security, health and dignity".[8][5][7] The accused include a Kyrgyzstanian women and two fellow workers from the labor supply firm Anavim, as well as a French and Georgian men.[6][7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ ""Harvest of Shame" 50 Years Later". 2010.
- ^ Friendly, Fred W. (1960-11-26), "Harvest of Shame", CBS Reports, Edward R. Murrow, Harriet Beeman, Michael Cassidy, retrieved 2025-06-20
- ^ Kleinberg, Eliot. "65 years ago, 'Harvest of Shame' exposed poverty for the first time with Glades farmworkers". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
- ^ Paris, Adam Sage (2025-06-19). "Champagne 'harvest of shame treated workers like slaves'". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
- ^ a b c d Chrisafis, Angelique (2025-06-19). "Employees at firm that supplied grape-pickers for champagne on trial for human trafficking". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
- ^ a b c "French champagne makers face human trafficking trial". www.bbc.com. 2025-06-19. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
- ^ a b c "Champagne bosses on trial over abuse of African grape pickers". RFI. 2025-06-19. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
- ^ RFI (2025-06-19). "Africa: Champagne Bosses On Trial Over Abuse of African Grape Pickers". Radio France Internationale. Retrieved 2025-06-20.