Does the more than probable departure of Michel Barnier and his government jeopardize the reindustrialization project of Chapelle Darblay carried out by the Canadian Fiber Excellence and Veolia? The consortium urgently needs support from the State to complete its financing plan, this is the question which agitates the actors of the endless soap opera of the Rouen paper mill – the boss of the CGT in the lead. Last week, the stakeholders still held out hope for a happy outcome after being received at Matignon. The subject was well identified and the proactive speech was not negative », Tells us a close friend of Nicolas Mayer Rossignol, president of the Métropole de Rouen who is very involved in the matter.
But censorship could reshuffle the cards while time is running out. The Canadian industrialist is losing patience. After spending nearly 15 million euros to ensure the maintenance and security of the factory, closed since 2019, he set an ultimatum. Its president gave himself until December 20, the expiry date of the contractual commitment with Veolia, before throwing in the towel. “ Fiber Excellence is ready, if necessary, to be satisfied with a signature at the bottom of a paper but cannot wait indefinitely », Reports Cyril Briffault, one of the three unionists who have been scrapping for five years to allow the reindustrialization of the site.
The appeal to the government
As a reminder, the relaunch of the Darblay Chapel requires a total investment of 245 million euros. If the Canadian group has committed to the tune of 27 million, the project remains conditional on a loan from one of the financial armed arms of the State (BPI, Caisse des Dépôts or APE) to the tune of around forty million . This will allow “ to achieve a sufficient level of equity to raise private debt », argue Sophie Binet and Nicolas Mayer Rossignol in a letter sent to Michel Barnier and Marc Ferracci. As the recipients of the missive are pushed out, do they still have the means to resolve the situation? Difficult to say.
Otherwise, the stationery which has become a standard-bearer of the circular economy would risk dismantling. However, its maintenance is essential to the French recycling sector. Once its machines are back in operation, the site would once again be able to recycle 480,000 tonnes of used paper and cardboard from a large North-West quarter and Île-de-France. Since its closure, this waste has been exported or taken hundreds of kilometers from its collection points at the cost of a heavy carbon footprint. “ We need good news to show that deindustrialization is not inevitable », insist the secretary of the CGT and the president of the Métropole de Rouen at the conclusion of their letter. Good news that is rare at the moment.
