Culture

Nutella Riots In France

Police had to be called after the rush for 70-percent-off jars turned violent

By Andrew Bui/

Thanks to the "Great Nutella Riots of 2018," we now know you should never come between French citizens and their love of the chocolate hazelnut spread. Just ask French supermarket chain Intermarché, which ran a promotion over the weekend offering the jars for a whopping 70 percent off—according to Grub Street, that translates to just $1.75 a jar. And as you'd expect, shoppers went after the deal like their lives depended on it.

Police were forced to step in to stop the hysteria at multiple stores, which BBC reports involved a woman having her hair pulled and an elderly lady who "took a box on her head." All of Intermarché's locations reportedly ran out of their stock of Nutella in less than 15 minutes.

In the wake of the riots, France's ministry of finance announced an investigation into the sale on the grounds Intermarché may have broken the country's strict law on discounting consumer goods. Meanwhile, Ferrero, Nutella's parent company, was quick to state that the discount was a "unilateral" decision made solely by Intermarché.

Recommended