Champagne Riots - The Riots Break Out

The Riots Break Out

In January 1911, frustrations reached boiling point as riots erupted along the towns of Damery and Hautvilliers. Champenois vine growers intercepted trucks with grapes from the Loire Valley and pushed them into the Marne river. They then descended upon the warehouses of producers known to produce these faux Champagne, tossing more wine and barrels into the Marne. The owner of Achille Perrier found his house surrounded by an angry mob chanting "A bas les fraudeurs" (Down with cheaters). He was able to escape harm by hiding in the home of his concierge. The height of the violence was experienced in the village of Aÿ, located 3 miles northeast of Épernay. The history of Aÿ has been intimately connected with the pride and prestige of the Champagne region. In the 16th century, King Francis I was fond of calling himself the "Roi d' Aÿ et de Gonesse"—King of the lands where the country's greatest wines and flour were produced. Such was the reputation of the wines of Aÿ that they were known as the vins de France, their quality representing the whole of the country rather than just a region. Eventually the name of Aÿ became a shorthand term to refer to all the wines of the Champagne region. (Much like Bordeaux or Beaune is used today to refer to the wines of the Gironde and Burgundy regions, respectively). As the mob descended upon the city little was spared. Homes of private citizens as well as Champagne house producers were pillaged and ransacked. Somewhere a fire was started that spread throughout the city. The regional governor sent an urgent telegraph to Paris requesting assistance stating "We are in a state of civil war!" By sunrise the entire village of Aÿ was burning. To quell the violence, the French government sent over 40,000 troops to the region—setting up a billet in every village.