As part of a promotion, Intermarché — a French supermarket chain — slashed the price of a 35-ounce jar of everyone's favorite hazelnut cocoa spread by 70 percent. What transpired was a series of scenes that would warm the heart of any die-hard "Black Friday" bargain-hunter.
In the words of one Intermarché employee, from the northeastern French town of Forbach, who spoke anonymously to Agence France-Presse: "People just rushed in, shoving everyone, breaking things. It was like an orgy. We were on the verge of calling the police."
The dogged pursuit of a discounted confection now heavily based on sugar and palm oil was hardly limited to Forbach.