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Between the 1st and 3rd of July, the trial for “human trafficking” was held in Reims during the 2018 grape harvest against Champagne winegrowing service providers. The court decision will be handed down on September 11th.
The prosecutor in charge of the case has requested three and two years in prison respectively for the couple who run the Rajviti company, a ban on running a business for ten years, as well as a fine of 200,000 euros and confiscation of property.
For the other defendants, including an executive of the Veuve Clicquot champagne house, the prosecutor expects sentences ranging from one year in prison to six months suspended.
In the dock, mostly are trying to clear themselves. While the manager of Veuve Clicquot readily admits that he was “negligent” with regard to the subcontracting that took place during the 2018 harvest, he does not fail to blame his colleagues: “It is inconceivable for me to employ grape pickers without a contract and in these conditions, the manager of Rajviti I thought she was just a team leader”.
The lawyers for the civil party denounce a “system that has benefited everyone”. In total, a little less than 200 victims are to be deplored. Among them, many Afghan refugees, vulnerable, starving, housed in insalubrious places and having received neither the promised contract nor their salary.
“The charges are being delegated and a cascade of sub-contracting has been reached, and the obligation of vigilance of the providers and the Veuve Clicquot executive has not been kept! There is an unconsciousness on the part of all these actors, the important thing is the grapes, not the men”, declared the representative of the Committee against Modern Slavery, Maître Bouzaida.
“I haven’t heard any spontaneous regrets, and this is happening in the world of champagne, in the world of luxury, and I am surprised that the Champagne Committee has not filed a civil action against it, while the image has been affected”, said Marlène Borde, representative of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
“Today the Champagne houses no longer want to bother with housing, the service providers are flourishing and as all my client is dependent on the houses: at the top of the pyramid you have the Champagne houses, at the bottom the unfortunate ones, and in the middle the service providers who are fuses”, estimated Maître Nicolas Brazy, who defends one of the managers of the Viti-Chenille service provider.
Apart from the insalubrious lodgings where the grape-pickers were discovered by the gendarmes during the controls in August 2018 in Dolancourt in the Aube and in Oiry in the Marne, other lodgings have been uncovered by the investigators. And the prosecutor recalled on Thursday the existence of an invoice which attests that the managers of Rajviti bought 200 mattresses in the summer of 2018.
The Tribunal’s decision will be issued on September 11.
Read also > THE RÉMY COINTREAU SPIRITS GROUP MAKES A COMEBACK IN CHAMPAGNE WITH THE ACQUISITION OF J. DE TELMONT
Featured photo : © Veuve Clicquot[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row njt-role=”not-logged-in”][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Between the 1st and 3rd of July, the trial for “human trafficking” was held in Reims during the 2018 grape harvest against Champagne winegrowing service providers. The court decision will be handed down on September 11th.
The prosecutor in charge of the case has requested three and two years in prison respectively for the couple who run the Rajviti company, a ban on running a business for ten years, as well as a fine of 200,000 euros and confiscation of property. […][/vc_column_text][vc_cta h2=”This article is for subscribers only.” h2_font_container=”font_size:16″ h2_use_theme_fonts=”yes” h4=”Subscribe now!” h4_font_container=”font_size:32|line_height:bas” h4_use_theme_fonts=”yes” txt_align=”center” color=”black” add_button=”right” btn_title=”I SUBSCRIBE!” btn_color=”danger” btn_size=”lg” btn_align=”center” use_custom_fonts_h2=”true” use_custom_fonts_h4=”true” btn_button_block=”true” btn_custom_onclick=”true” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fluxus-plus.com%2Fen%2Fabonnements-et-newsletter-2%2F|||”]Unlimited access to all the articles and live a new reading experience, preview contents, exclusive newsletters…
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Between the 1st and 3rd of July, the trial for “human trafficking” was held in Reims during the 2018 grape harvest against Champagne winegrowing service providers. The court decision will be handed down on September 11th.
The prosecutor in charge of the case has requested three and two years in prison respectively for the couple who run the Rajviti company, a ban on running a business for ten years, as well as a fine of 200,000 euros and confiscation of property. […][/vc_column_text][vc_cta h2=”This article is for subscribers only.” h2_font_container=”font_size:16″ h2_use_theme_fonts=”yes” h4=”Subscribe now!” h4_font_container=”font_size:32|line_height:bas” h4_use_theme_fonts=”yes” txt_align=”center” color=”black” add_button=”right” btn_title=”I SUBSCRIBE!” btn_color=”danger” btn_size=”lg” btn_align=”center” use_custom_fonts_h2=”true” use_custom_fonts_h4=”true” btn_button_block=”true” btn_custom_onclick=”true” btn_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fluxus-plus.com%2Fen%2Fabonnements-et-newsletter-2%2F|||”]Unlimited access to all the articles and live a new reading experience, preview contents, exclusive newsletters…
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