Chaos broke out in French supermarkets today with reports of 'riots' caused by a 70 per cent discount on pots of Nutella.

There was hysteria in shops around the country as bargain hunters tried to get their hands on knockdown pots of the chocolate hazelnut spread.

Some media reports in France said shoppers were behaving like 'animals' in scenes reminiscent of the Black Friday sales in America as they scrambled to secure the heavily discounted breakfast favourite at Intermarche supermarkets.

Chaos: Customers scrambled to get their hands on pots of Nutella today after a French supermarket chain rolled out a 70 per cent discount

Scramble: There was hysteria in shops around the country as bargain hunters tried to get their hands on knockdown pots of the chocolate hazelnut spread

Le Progres newspaper was told by one customer in Rive-de-Gier, central France: 'They are like animals. A woman had her hair pulled, an elderly lady took a box on her head, another had a bloody hand. It was horrible.'

However, the store manager insisted there was no violence and dismissed such reports as inaccurate.

According to The Local police were called to a shop in Ostricourt in northern France when a brawl broke out.

The same happened in Wingles and Marles-les-Mines in Pas-de-Calais as well as in Roubaix in the Nord department, it is claimed.

Some media reports in France said shoppers were behaving like 'animals' in scenes reminiscent of the Black Friday sales in America as they scrambled to secure the heavily discounted goods at Intermarche supermarkets

The shopping mayhem was sparked when Intermarche announced its €4.50 pots were to be reduced to just €1.40

The shopping mayhem was sparked when Intermarche announced its €4.50 pots were to be reduced to just €1.40.

In one shop in Saint-Cyprien in southern France, a staff member was pounced on while they were still in the process of carrying a crate of the spread on to the shop floor.

The Montbrison store in central France resorted to limiting the number of pots per customer to three - only for shoppers to keep returning for a repeat purchase.

Store manager Jean-Marie Daragon said 700 pots flew off the shelves in just 45 minutes.

About 100 million pots of Nutella are eaten each year in France. Some 365,000 tonnes of the spread are made each year.