A letter from the president. The mayor of Rouen, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, has received a letter from the President of the Republic. The elected official had sent him a two-page letter on March 10 to question him about the fate of the Chapelle Darblay paper mill in Grand-Couronne. The industrial site in Seine-Maritime is still waiting for a buyer to restart the site, which has been closed for a year.
"To my knowledge, this is the very first time that the President of the Republic has spoken officially and directly about Chapelle Darblay" underlines the mayor on the city's website.
"It would be totally absurd for such a site (...) to close" says the mayor of Rouen
In his letter, co-signed by 59 other elected officials, the mayor recalls that "this flagship of the circular economy is at risk of closing next June, if the public authorities do not act massively and urgently to ensure that its Finnish owner, UPM, who wants to get rid of it, accepts takeover offers - because there are some!"
The Chapelle Darblay paper mill is " the only French site producing 100% recycled newsprint with fiber that comes entirely from recovery channels" . In addition, "Its biomass boiler represents 30% of the regional consumption in Normandy and is capable of heating the equivalent of a town of 20,000 inhabitants. The plant has a wastewater treatment plant that can meet the needs of 400,000 people. 50,000 tons of paper are transported by river on the Seine."
He continues: "It would be totally absurd for such a site (...) to close. If this were the case, it would push many, many communities to bury or burn the waste paper instead of recycling it, or to send it to Belgium or Germany! "
And "the plant also has a remarkable potential for diversification ." The mayor mentions in particular outlets for new packaging cardboard products, packaging, but also thermal insulation.
"The employees and the local authorities are fighting. There are industrial buyers ready to invest. But as is often the case in these cases, a strong national political commitment is needed for the owner (UPM) to agree to sell and does not leave the site abandoned. (...)
Mr. President, June 5, 2020, you announced: 'the World After will be resolutely ecological . I am committed to it. (...)'. You have prioritized industrial relocation and the circular economy. If Chapelle Darblay is not at the heart of this, what industry is? "
"You can count on my determination", replies the president
The mayor received the response from the head of state on May 12. The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron assures to know "the importance of fighting to preserve our industrial jobs".
"I have repeatedly stated that we should not give in to any fatality in the face of restructuring or bankruptcy situations and that we must continue to fight collectively to save jobs in our country.
I am also committed to the fact that we are in a logic of creation and not in a logic of condition. Thus, the priority in the coming months is to enable companies to hire and invest, to relocate their activities on our territory and to support employment throughout the country around the ecological transition.
In this regard, you can count on my determination, and that of the Government, to accelerate the ecological transition as close as possible to the territories, in conjunction with local elected officials, and to the daily lives of the French."
No more specific commitment on UPM's paper mill will be given but he ends his missive by saying that Agnès Pannier-Runacher the Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, responsible for industry, "is following this file closely and was informed of [this] intervention." .
Decision on site takeover known by June 30
Put up for sale in September 2019, the recycled newsprint mill of the Finnish group UPM had closed last July for lack of a buyer. The site employed 230 people.
Six non-binding offers have been received, the office of the prefect of Seine-Maritime announced earlier this month.
The paper group will announce its decision on the firm bids that will be submitted by June 30, and a sale of the site may be completed in the third quarter of 2021. (More details on these offers: Six takeover bids for the Chapelle Darblay paper mill .)
Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol says about this presidential missive: "At a time when binding offers from potential buyers are to be submitted to the Finnish owner UPM, I see this as an encouraging sign. (...)
Of course, now the actions must follow. We will be particularly attentive and vigilant. We owe it to all the employees of Chapelle, to their families. And to all those who are, like us, convinced that the future of the circular economy lies with Chapelle Darblay, in Grand-Couronne."
