Vintage VMC France Reims champagne glasses, Harlequin drink glass in red, blue, green, set of 5

VMC stands for Verreries Mecaniques Champenoises, a glass factory based in Reims. In 1911 an accountant named Arthur Papon started VMC. Arthur's son was a shareholder in the factory, but in 1930 he also got a career with the French government; where he was responsible during the war, for sending Jews to Paris; from where they were sent to Auswitz. This was released in the 1980s.Back to the factory; in the 60s the factory flourished and had nearly 2000 employees. In the 70s, when France was struggling with the oil crisis and production decline, social conflicts and strikes arose within VMC. In June 1977 there was a strike outside the factory and three workers were shot from a car, one of whom was killed immediately. It turned out that Mr Papon, in cooperation with an extreme right-wing militia, was behind this himself. Papon sentenced in the late 90s for his crimes against humanity.The factory was taken over by the largest glass producer Owens-Illinois, but closed in 2009.