Three people – a woman from Kyrgyzstan, a man from Georgia and a Frenchman – are accused of exploiting more than 50 seasonal workers, mainly from west Africa.

In 2023 six grape pickers died from suspected heatstroke during the harvest in the Champagne and Beaujolais regions - and in recent years there have been two other criminal cases in which agents have been found guilty of maltreatment of migrant vendangeurs.