On this day, 4 November 1910, in a prelude to the Champagne riots of the following year, several grape growing communes in the Champagne region of France decided to stop paying taxes. Growers were angry at Champagne producers driving down prices, and importing cheaper grapes from elsewhere in Europe to make their “Champagne,” and so they wanted the government to legislate that Champagne had to be made mostly from grapes from the region.
A few months later on January 17, simmering discontent erupted into violence when growers in the village of Damery intercepted a truck of imported grapes and threw it into the river Marne. Growers then raided the warehouses of a producer they considered “fraudulent,”, and raised a red flag at the town hall. Protests, including singing of the Internationale, escalated to a full-blown insurrection.
The government responded by initiating a nine-month occupation of the area by 40,000 troops, but they did implement the law protesters had demanded. Today, in Europe, there remain strict rules on what can be labelled “Champagne” and it must come from the Champagne region. https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2126552844196521/?type=3
