French winemakers are often accused of viewing the glass as half empty. Dire warnings about the state of the sector – one of the three pillars of the country’s economy – are a hardy perennial blamed on everything from geopolitics to a drop in the number of drinkers.

Before a crisis meeting with the agriculture minister on Monday, vineyard owners say an unprecedented series of setbacks, including some of the worst harvests in 70 years, has left many of them on their last legs.

Jean-Marie Fabre, the president of the independent winemakers’ syndicate, said urgent action was needed to save up to a fifth of the country’s winegrowers.

“They are putting their final efforts into this battle for survival. The situation is dramatic and the government has to do something,” Fabre said.

“We cannot

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