French Immigration Officials Plan to Deport a Beloved Japanese Winemaking Couple

Earlier this week, as Americans pondered the supreme irony of celebrating freedom in a country whose administration is actively working to keep out and kick out “foreigners” of every stripe, a similar drama played out across the pond in France. There, in the Catalan region of Roussillon, immigration officials are attempting to deport a married couple of acclaimed Japanese winemakers for reasons that appear to be based on prejudice.

Rié and Hirofumi Shoji produce the grenache grape-based Pedres Blanques, a natural, hand-harvested red wine that has garnered rave reviews in Europe. Just two years old, the Shojis’ vineyard supplies the famed Girona, Spain restaurant El Celler de Can Roca as well as Parisian bistros such as Le Verre Volé. Last year, its inaugural vintage of 10,000 bottles completely sold out, an article in France24 reports, with the price per bottle more than doubling from 12 euros (US $14) to 26 euros.

But in spite of the winemakers’ rapid success and highly lauded product, in early April, the Shojis were notified by the préfecture, or local government, that their application for a residence permit could not be granted and that the couple had to leave France within nine days.

According to France24, the reason for the couple’s expulsion is that they earn less than 2,000 euros per month and therefore can’t be expected to be able to support themselves. But the Shojis’ lawyer, Jean Codognès, told the news site that the couple were doing well financially when compared with other local winemakers.

“The average income in the area, even with subsidies, is less than 1,000 euros a month," he said. Plus, as foreigners, the Shojis are ineligible for the referenced “subsidies,” sometimes-substantial financial supports that farmers and other producers can receive from the French government.

As well as the winemakers did last year, the forecast for their 2018 production appears just as rosy, Codognès added. “Their wine has been a huge success, and 75 percent of the production for this year has already been reserved,” he said.

Because the Shojis’ economic status appears to be stable, the decision by the local government, which Codognès has appealed, seems to be a case of prejudice against the Japanese couple. An online petition to reverse the decision, circulated on mesopinions.com and signed by more than 51,500 people, calls attention to the apparent racism.

“Even though June 2018 marks the debut of official ‘Japonisme 2018’ events, on the occasion of the 160th anniversary of Franco-Japanese relations, this almost banal administrative move strikes a nerve,” it reads in part. “Where is the logic, common sense in such a decision?”

Rié and Hirofumi Shoji met in France, each having arrived, independently, in 2011 to pursue their dreams of starting a winery. Both have studied and worked at some of the country’s top vineyards in Burgundy and Bordeaux, and Rié worked under Alain Ducasse in Tokyo. Many local winemakers have come to the couple’s defence, including Alain Castex of neighboring Les Vins du Cabanon.

“They are really passionate people with very high ethical standards and they have been a magnificent success," Castex told French public television.

A decision on the Shojis’ appeal is expected by early September.