Spirits groups such as Remy Cointreau and Pernod Ricard were struggling on the Paris Bourse on Friday, as the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced the launch of an anti-competitive investigation into wine spirits, such as cognac, imported from the European Union.

At 10.08 a.m., cognac producer Remy Cointreau was down 8.12%, while Pernod Ricard, less exposed to wine spirits, was down 4.46%.

Luxury goods giant LVMH, which also owns spirits brands such as Hennessy cognac, was down 1.96%.

The investigation by the Chinese authorities follows a complaint by the China Alcoholic Beverage Association on behalf of the local wine spirits industry, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement released on Friday.

(Written by Blandine Hénault, with contributions from Michal Aleksandrowicz in Gdansk and Casey Hall in Shanghai, edited by Nicolas Delame)