Thursday, June 26, 2008

THE FRENCH TAKE THEIR WINES SERIOUSLY, IN MORE THAN ONE WAY


Wine growers throw stones at riot police after a demonstration in Montpellier, southern France Wednesday, June 25, 2008.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Claude Paris

MONTPELLIER, France - Winemakers in southern France have burned two police cars and vandalized supermarkets during protests to demand government aid.

Vintners in France's Languedoc-Roussillon region have been protesting plummeting prices for their regional wines as well as rising fuel costs.

Top regional official Cyrille Schott says protesters broke windows at the courthouse in the city of Montpellier. In nearby Montagnac, protesters wielding baseball bats chased police from their vehicles and set the cars on fire.

Schott says protesters damaged four bank buildings.