the Reims public prosecutor’s office opens an investigation after the death of a grape picker, heat suspected

The Reims public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation after the death of a 19-year-old man in the Champagne vineyard, France Bleu Champagne-Ardenne learned on Tuesday September 12. The death of this grape picker occurred while he was working under a blazing sun, with 32 or even 34 degrees in the shade. An autopsy was carried out on Monday September 11 and additional analyzes are underway to establish the causes of his death. The investigations also aim to determine his working conditions.

“If I hadn’t hired him, he would still be here.”

France Bleu Champagne-Ardenne met the winemaker who employed this seasonal worker. “I am responsible because I hired this poor young man. If I had not hired him, he would still be here”, testifies the latter under the seal of anonymity. This is the first time that such a tragedy has occurred on its plots. She has used grape pickers for several decades.

“I saw him on Friday lunchtime. He wasn’t feeling too well. I told him ‘if you want, you can stop’. He told me ‘no, I’ll continue’. I let him continue “she explains. “In the afternoon, my husband asked him if he was okay, he said ‘yes’. After my guy in the tractor [sur la parcelle] saw that he was sitting on a box, and suddenly he fell backwards”she adds.

If the vines are in full sun, his vineyard was not affected by an orange heatwave alert. “There is water. I don’t know if he was hot, I don’t know what happened. There was no reason for him to fall”, she said in a sob. At least three grape harvesters died in the Marne vineyards during the heat wave in early September, according to the department prefecture, contacted by France Inter.