Nearly 2,500 people demonstrated this Saturday in Guéret against “mega-wood factories” at the call of around thirty environmentalist associations. Among the main demands, the abandonment of the project to establish the wood pellet factory carried by Biosyl or the contested extension of the Farges Bois sawmill in Egletons in Corrèze. Two projects among others, which crystallize the current tensions around the timber sector.
Fourteen artificialized hectares, 130,000 tonnes of wood, or 160,000 m³ consumed per year, from seven departments around. “The mega-wood factory project in Guéret, that’s it. It’s dizzying. Some small loggers tell us this. In a single day, this mega-factory could produce their year-round output. Our forests are already crying,” recalled the thirty environmental associations gathered in Creuse this Saturday.
The demonstrators all said “no” this Saturday, October 5, to the project carried by Biosyl. A few hundred people, carrying banners and signs with protest slogans, joined the area around the plot, still fallow, in the morning. At the head of the informative walk, Mathilde Panot, MP and president of the LFI group at the National Assembly, and Catherine Couturier, former MP for Creuse, were notably invited to support the cause.
Among the elected officials present at this day of mobilization in Creuse, the European deputy Marie Toussaint (Les Ecologistes) and Mathilde Panot, president of the LFI group at the national assembly.
The groups opposed to “mega-factories” then presented their various arguments to elected officials and demonstrators. Among them, Jacques Descargues, former secretary general of the national forestry office. He traveled from Corrèze to join the mobilization. “I am fighting against these projects, even in the Basque Country. This Limousin massif is rich in biodiversity. We are handing over our forests, especially private ones, which are not protected, on a plateau to big industries. We think in the short term, but the forest cycle is between 100 and 200 years. Backtracking is virtually impossible. It is often irreversible. We need to be aware of all this. »
Symbolically, the procession then erected a large wooden tower on a roundabout near the field. “It symbolizes our surveillance. We will continue to monitor. We will be physically present if the trucks and the construction of the factory begin,” one of the organizers chanted into the megaphone, determined.
“Our nature is our only wealth” estimates the mayor of Guéret in front of 2,500 opponents of “mega-wood factories”
Three ongoing procedures
Furthermore, the legal battle is still ongoing. To date, three administrative authorizations have been issued, including two building permits. “But there are significant legal defects,” believes Yann Fauconnier, lawyer at the Clermont-Ferrand bar defending the abandonment of the project. I filed three requests with the Limoges administrative court, the procedures are still ongoing. » The review times for the latter are approximately two years. A fairly long delay as the CEO of Biosyl, Antoine de Cockborne, plans to start work at the end of 2024 for a hoped-for opening in 2026. “As soon as there is a machine on the ground to begin the work, I will file a new appeal to stop this,” announces the lawyer. The struggle between the supporters of the establishment and the opponents risks, in fact, being a long-term one.The mobilization ended on the square in front of town hall with a series of speeches.
In the meantime, the procession saw its ranks swell significantly at the beginning of the afternoon. Nearly 2,500 demonstrators responded to the call in front of the Guéret bus station, before heading to the town hall. Eve, crown of flowers around her head to show her attachment to the forest, naturally came with a friend. “I live in Creuse. I often walk in the forest on horseback or on foot. I already see clean cuts on a regular basis. It’s sad. If this project sees the light of day, it will be even worse for our beautiful forest and our biodiversity in general. I had to be there,” she testifies.
Some clashes at the end of the demonstration
Particularly calm, the climate then became electrified for a moment in front of the prefecture. The demonstrators were upset by the decision of the prefect, who did not follow up on the carrying out of an environmental impact study of the plot. Still symbolically, the bravest unpacked bags of wood pellets to throw a few handfuls above the gates. The building being cordoned off by the police, the ongoing action led to the arrest of two individuals. Without events degenerating any further. The crowd ended its journey on the other side of Place Bonnyaud, in front of the town hall. Marie-Françoise Fournier, mayor of Guéret, closed the speeches. “Our nature is our only wealth. Forty jobs created by Biosyl, but how many lost in our small local businesses? » Enough to make everyone think as they wish.Some clashes broke out at the end of the demonstration. At issue: the arrest of two individuals, one of whom threw a stepladder into the prefecture gardens. Several shopkeepers’ flower pots were also broken.
The reactions:
Bruno Doucet (canopy association): “In Creuse, there is already a volume of standing wood which is decreasing. Each year, the Creuse standing forest grows by one million cubic meters. Today, the industry already takes 1.2 million cubic meters. So we are already in deficit. We must reverse the trend. But instead, we add factories like Biosyl which will collect 160,000 cubic meters of hardwood per year. Because what you need to know is that 80% of the hardwood trees will be taken from 130 km around. Furthermore, there already exist Biosyl factories, notably one in Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire. And we see how she stocks up, with clear cuts. » Marie Toussaint (MEP, The Ecologists) : “We may want another future for our territories where there are forests. It is not against the economy, against employment. On the contrary. The pellets that will be produced by Biosyl will not be intended for local consumption. They will be sent further. So, we must manage to get out of this economy which is destroying jobs and nature at the same time. » Mathilde Panot (president of the LFI group in the national assembly): “We know what it is like when there is no democratic debate. We are going to re-submit transpartisan bills. The subject of regulating clear felling is a fundamental question to put an end to the control of multinationals over timber. France is very late, there is no legislation. And that leads to aberrant projects like this one. We need to put in place rules, it’s a vital issue. »
Marie-Françoise Fournier (mayor of Guéret): “Our nature is our only wealth. Forty jobs created by Biosyl, but how many lost in our small local businesses? And what are we going to replace this nature with? Furthermore, I regret that there was no consultation upstream. An ecological catastrophe awaits us. »
Bérenger Cernon (LFI deputy for Essonne) : “This mobilization is a great success. This is what will allow us to bring this subject to the National Assembly. If we do not have popular mobilization behind it, we cannot achieve it. This is a subject close to my heart that I will carry with conviction. The objective is that this law is passed but also applied, that there are real constraints on the exploitation of the forest. »
Text: Vincent Faure and Pacôme Welcome
Photos : Floris Bressy
