Last Friday, October 2, and while the strike started the previous week was over, the prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône (south of France) issued a press release indicating that the Fibre Excellence pulp factory in Tarascon declared itself in default of payment. The representative of the State in the region explained : “The State services, mobilized for several days around the situation of the company, take note of the decision of its leaders to declare themselves in default of payment, and to place the company under the protection of the commercial court. The opening of this procedure will make it possible to remedy its defaulting shareholder and open the possibility of supporting the site with the expertise of court administrators, in order to find a lasting solution for the mill’s activity and jobs.”
The press release explains the situation in the mill in the following terms: “In a very difficult context on the pulp market, and faced with the refusal of its shareholder to provide it with financial support, Fibre Excellence Tarascon has, moreover, saw its operation thwarted by a social movement between September 21 and October 1. All of these elements have led management to decide today to file for insolvency. State services are aware of the period of uncertainty which opens today for the 280 employees of the site and their families, but also for the thousands of workers in the timber industry whose activity is dependent on the site. This is why, within the framework of the judicial reorganization procedure which could be opened next week [this week Editor’s note] by the Toulouse commercial court, exceptional support would be provided to the company and to the players in the sector, directly impacted. The State will provide financial support for the company to enable it, under the protection of the Court, to find a buyer within a reasonable period of time, and to ensure its operation over this period. The collaboration of everyone in the smooth running of the business, and therefore in the search for a buyer, appears to be an essential condition. During this period, the State services will also continue their mediation work to allow the emergence of an agreement on the financing of the turbine project envisaged for the site, in connection with public and private creditors, which would allow a competitive energy supply in the service of a site recovery project. A meeting will be organized in the Arles sub-prefecture later this week, with employee representatives as well as elected officials from the area to take stock of the situation and consider the next steps. ”
The Tarascon site employs nearly 300 people directly and generates some 3,000 induced jobs.
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