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Diplomatic row sparked by wine tanker hijack

A diplomatic row has broken out over an attack by French farmers on Spanish wine tankers, in which 70,000 litres of wine were lost.

The Spanish Foreign Ministry censured the attacks, summoning the French Ambassador and issuing an emphatic statement to Paris and the European Commission. Accusing France of violating EU rules, it said: ‘ Spain has already officially passed on its protest to the French authorities, and urges them to adopt all appropriate measures to guarantee, with absolute security, the free movement of people and goods, one of the basic principles of the European Union.’

The incident, during which wine was sent gushing across a motorway less than 16km from the Spanish border (pictured), was the work of farmers protesting against ‘cheap’ Spanish wine prices. Graffiti saying ‘wine not compliant’ – a reference to supposedly weaker production regulations in Spain – was daubed on the side of the tankers during the protests.

The incident was the latest in a series of attacks by French farmers on Spanish produce, following a mass blockade in July last year.