Within a month of violent hailstorms destroying a large part of the wine harvest in parts of France, including the Bordeaux region, hailstones the size of ping pong balls hit the Var on Sunday, causing more damage to vineyards as well as to property and vehicles.

“It was very brief, but very intense,” the mayor of the town of Carnoules told Var-Matin. Electricity was cut to scores of properties.

On Monday morning, the mayor announced that the Prefecture has refused to consider hail as a form of natural disaster, on the grounds that hail is included in the clauses of insurance contracts.

Violent hailstorms had ravaged parts of the Bordeaux wine region at the end of May, destroying thousands of hectares of vines.

Last year the Bordeaux region suffered one of its worst harvests in history with a fall of 39 percent on the year due to late frosts, which lead to a jump in prices.