PARIS -- Brawls have broken out in French supermarkets as shoppers scrambled to get their hands on discounted jars of chocolate and hazelnut spread.

Hysterical scenes were filmed in several supermarkets across the country operated by the Intermarche chain, which offered massive discounts on jars of Nutella.

The promotion, launched on Thursday, reduced the price of more than a million 2 pound jars from 4.70 euros to 1.41 (about $1.75).

In one video posted on Twitter, customers are seen shoving each other and shouting as they try to get as many jars as possible. According to Le Parisien newspaper, shoppers started to fight in the northern town of Ostricourt, prompting police to step in.

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Intermarche did not immediately answer a message from the Associated Press seeking comments. Ferrero, the company that produces Nutella, said "the decision for the special offer was taken unilaterally by Intermarche."

BBC News quoted French media as saying staff were attempting to break up the feuding customers but being shoved away.

"They are like animals. A woman had her hair pulled, an elderly lady took a box on her head, another had a bloody hand," one Intermarche shopper said.

According to the BBC, 402,000 tons of Nutella is eaten every year across the world.