Carcassonne bomb explosion linked to militant winemaker group

The headquarters of the local Aude socialist party in Carcassonne was the site of a bomb explosion around midnight on Tuesday, July 16.

The Carcassonne headquarters destroyed and defaced by the attack

The letters CAV – Comité d’Action Viticole – were sprayed on to the front of the building in blue and red, suggesting the militant wine group was claiming responsibility.

In response to the explosion, a statement by the first secretary of the Aude socialist party, Harlem Desir, said: ‘We condemn in the strongest possible terms this unacceptable act that could endanger the lives of bystanders or participants in the meeting with ended just one hour before the explosion No claim, no ideology can justify such acts.’

French agricultural minister Stephanne Le Foll – whose name was also tagged on the building – has expressed his dismay at the events, and underlined the efforts the French government has been making on behalf of the wine industry, most recently with the successful defense of plantation rights in the European Union.

Foll said: ‘The government’s support of winemakers, and my own, is something that has seen concrete results and solutions. We will try to understand their attitude, but will never accept their methods.’

This is the first attack for several years from CAV, a wine action group with its roots in the early 20th century, but that was most active in the 1960s, and most recently in 2008, when activists attacked a building in Narbonne.

Written by Jane Anson