12 November 2023 , 23:10
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Thieves stole two truckloads of champagne - worth the equivalent of around £525,000 - and led police on a high-speed chase.
Officers were eventually able to recover the liquid loot but the thieves managed to escape. They had nicked the vehicles on Saturday near Reims, in the heart of France's Champagne wine region.
But the vehicles were equipped with tracking devices and police gave chase on the A4 motorway between Reims and Paris. According to Le Parisien newspaper, the consignments consisted of bottles of Moët & Chandon, one of the most renowned brands of champagne. Each load was valued at €300,000 (£262,000 approximately), it's understood.
Two police cars were involved in the chase. The thieves tried to shake them off by swerving abruptly, BBC reports.
When the officers forced one of the lorries to slow down, the driver jumped off before being picked up by a saloon car that was following the convoy. The car sped away.
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The second lorry took the next exit and was later found without the driver. An investigation is under way. The champagne bottles were all retrieved intact and unharmed, if a little shaken.
Part of the luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, Moët & Chandon is a French fine winery. The prominent champagne house was established in 1743 by Claude Moët, and today owns 1,190 hectares (2,900 acres) of vineyards, and annually produces approximately 28,000,000 bottles of champagne.