French shoppers brawl over cheap Nutella

A Nutella price drop led to French shoppers brawling in supermarket aisles across the country.

French media reported there were “riots in several stores across France” yesterday after the supermarket chain Intermarché reduced the price on a 950g pot of the Ferrero chocolate spread by 70 per cent from €4.50 (£3.94) to €1.41.

“They were going for each other like animals,” said one employee at a store in Rive-de-gier, central France.

The facts of Nutella are as boggling to the mind as those of astronomy. At a velocity of 35,000mph, it would take 81,000 years to reach the nearest star (apart from the Sun). The Great Wall of China could be covered to a depth of two feet with the Nutella produced each year. This would no doubt be visible from space as the rocket to the nearest star receded. The sugar in two years’ production of Nutella would outweigh the Empire State Building, if engineers built big enough scales. The 630,720,000 hazelnuts harvested each year for Nutella come largely from Turkey, an essential component of Nato. Such facts may have upset the balance of mind of French shoppers, reported to be fighting in supermarkets for cut-price Nutella. Or perhaps, like World Nutella Day (Monday week), it just reflects a sophisticated marketing campaign.