The French government hopes to shore up the country's wine industry by purchasing excess wine. The excess wine will be turned into industrial alcohol used in hand sanitizer or cleaning products. France's wine industry has seen a change in consumption habits, with less people drinking red wine. The impacts of COVID and the high cost of living have contributed to the country's wine industry woes. Between 2005 and 2021, France has seen wine consumption decrease from 33.5 million hectoliters to 25.2 million hectoliters — about a 25% decrease, according to Statista.

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Persons: Food Marc Fesneau, Susie Goldspink Organizations: Service, French, of Agriculture, Food, EU, Agence France, Bloomberg, European Commission, Guardian Locations: Wall, Silicon, Presse, Europe, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, AFP