Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau meets the wine world in Cournonsec

Régine Illaire, maire de Cournonsec accueille le ministre de l'Agriculture au caveau de vente de la cave Montagnac-Domitienne. Midi Libre – JEAN MICHEL MART

Marc Fesneau, Minister of Agriculture, was eagerly awaited in Hérault. His first stop was in Cournonsec, in the metropolis of Montpellier, at the Montagnac-Domitienne cellar.

Eight parliamentarians, a European deputy, departmental councilors, mayors…On the square in front of the Cournonsec cellar, called Montagnac-Domitienne since the merger of the two cellars in 2019, the scarves tricolors are asked to line up wisely. The   – numerous – media representatives invited to stand still.

The Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau is expected to talk about viticulture, before a meeting organized at the headquarters of Midi Libre and then at the Gard prefecture. By waiting before his arrival, some people make fun of the mobilization of the deputies…"well, they are not as numerous on all the ministerial trips!". No doubt the great popularity of the agricultural anger movement encouraged elected officials from all sides to show up.

But it is first of all the representatives of the wine world that the minister comes to see. Cooperation, appellations, independent winegrowers, and representatives of all unions have been invited to this round table. Some figures are there like Jérôme Despey, vice-president of the FNSEA, Frédéric Rouanet, president of the Syndicat des Vignerons de l'Aude or the Nîmes Bernard Angelras, president of the French Wine Institute…

Among the guests at the Cournonsec round table, the representative of the Aude Winegrowers' Union, Frédéric Rouanet. Midi Libre – JEAN MICHEL MART

European crisis

During the Sitevi show, organized last December in Montpellier, the minister promised that he would return. Of course, he never imagined that such a powerful mobilization of the profession would come. shine the spotlight on agricultural issues… Even if, he said straight away upon his arrival, "the crisis is European, a change of European software will be necessary". The slight concern of Régine Illaire, mayor of Cournonsec, this Friday afternoon, will quickly be dissipated: government announcements and the gradual lifting of blockages ensure a certain serenity in exchanges.

Remembrance of the "oath of Assas"

The minister explains the measures: some aim to bring in cash very quickly, others aim for a more significant restructuring of the vineyard, with possibilities of grubbing up. & ;quot;The objective is not to make France a country without vineyards, we will remain a wine-producing nation, but with wine growers who earn their living. Marc Fesneau evokes the "Assas oath, taken not far from here 53 years ago, with mayors who had promised to defend viticulture This is why I also ask communities to act in the direction of trust. This crisis has been brewing for years, we need to give perspective. We must restore the bond of trust with consumers, on the environmental issues that we must resolve… If agriculture could become a central subject!"

Fabien Castelbou, vice-president of the cellar and representative of the Vignerons Coopérators and Jérôme Despey, president of the Hérault Chamber of Agriculture and vice-president of the FNSEA, welcomed Minister Marc Fesneau. Midi Libre – JEAN MICHEL MART

For local elected officials, the fate of farmers is a concern:"we know that there is suffering, even if these are not people that we will see at the CCAS", breathes Régine Illaire. In his town of Pégairolles-de-l'Escalette, the president of the Hérault mayors' association, Frédéric Roig, knows nothing nor the difficulties of the thirty cooperative members of the cellar in his commune, one of the smallest in the department. "The question of access to water mobilizes us, with the subject of winter reservoirs on which we must make good progress. We signed a charter with the Department and the State to support the municipalities with, as a key element, the sharing of experiences." 

The minister gone, at the foot of the immense vats, a small glass is served and the exchanges continue. We welcome "the advances" without overflowing with optimism.

In Montagnac-Cournonsec, 450 cooperators including 130 professionals

With 450 cooperators, around 130 of whom make their living 100% from viticulture, the Montagnac-Domitienne cellar is one of the largest in the department. The situations are there  disparate: the producers of Picpoul de Pinet, a popular appellation which sells well, are doing rather well while the market for local wines is tense, all the more so for private winegrowers. #39;access to water and whose yields are lower. The announced grubbing-up measures could, according to President Nicolas Michel, primarily interest “multi-active” workers, suppliers who have another profession and vineyards as a secondary activity.

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