P.M. BRIEFING : Wineries Hit Proposed Ad Curb
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PARIS — French winemakers today protested a government plan to curb advertisements for alcoholic drinks, saying it would damage sales and France’s prestige overseas.
“This proposal is scandalous,” said Luc Reutenauer, president of the Cahors Wine Council in southwestern France.
He was reacting to a draft law approved by the French government Wednesday that would ban commercials, except advertisements in the printed press, for all but the weakest alcoholic drinks.
Wine and spirits makers said the plan would jeopardize one of the country’s key export industries.
France exported $6 billion worth of wine and spirits last year.
“Cognac exports alone were ahead of Airbus,” the European airplane assembled in France, Patrick Ricard, president of the Pernod Ricard group, told a news conference.
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