winegrowers are still waiting for aid

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Three months later devastating fires of August, Laurent Lignère, winegrower in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse (Aude), still does not know under what conditions he will be able to resume his activity. “We will end up with almost 4 to 5 years without production”, he laments. On August 5, 2025, flames and smoke ravaged half of his crops, but also his cellar and all of his agricultural equipment. It is the work of a lifetime that must be started again. He has not received any assistance at the moment, but his personal insurance and the emergency fund released by the state should allow him to pay his expenses. “Knowing that we have to move very quickly, since in a few months it will be spring and, four or five months later, we will harvest again”indicates Laurent Lignère.

A few kilometers away, the vines of Philippe Estrade, winegrower in Ribaute (Aude), appear spared. But the fumes made the grapes unfit for consumption. “We will not use them and we will begin the next year of work without having added value to the grapes”he regrets. With the other operators concerned, they should share in the coming days a total aid of 4.4 million euros, enough to compensate approximately 30% of its losses. “It will allow me to pay what I owe to my suppliers, to social organizations, to finish my vintage in economic conditions, which would not have been the case if the emergency funds had not been there,” he explains.

According to the Aude prefecture, 147 farms should receive their aid in the coming days.