Fibre Excellence has taken the next step in its battle with the French government. The pulp producer, which operates two sites in Saint-Gaudens (Haute-Garonne) and Tarascon (Bouches-du-Rhône), has requested a preliminary administrative appeal, a compulsory step before referring the matter to the administrative judge. For the industrialist, "the future of the company and the French forest-wood-paper industry is at stake between now and mid-April" .
Electricity at the heart of disputes
Committed to a conciliation procedure "unsuccessful to date in avoiding receivership" management is now looking to "to obtain a written response from the State" the Group is also involved in the revision of tariffs for its CRE5 biomass electricity contracts.
According to Fibre Excellence, the government announcements made in February do not translate into a concrete offer, and only partially address the issues at stake.
A loss of 52 million euros
Recourse is based on "a series of errors likely to engage the responsibility of the State" .
Fibre Excellence highlights "the award of a new contract to a particular player, constituting illegal state aid" .
In addition "the state's refusal modify the formula for calculating the adjustment of the additional remuneration to include changes in the cost of wood "as required by law" . Both plants, with a total of 670 employees and annual capacity of around 550,000 tonnes, are directly dependent on this mechanism.
According to the manufacturer, these elements are "the direct cause of a financial loss of over 52 million euros" for both sites by the end of 2025.
A deadline set for April 14
Pending further developments, "interim measures are possible" and have been proposed to the State "no response to date".
Without a commitment by April 14, the situation could tip over the edge, warns Fibre Excellence, which is talking about suspension of payments. And Fibre Excellence will be "forced" to refer the matter to the administrative judge, who may order modifications to the contract in question, but also "grant compensation commensurate with the damage suffered".
Beyond the case of the two mills, Fibre Excellence reminds us that the paper industry "contributes to national sovereignty and calls for "urgent political attention to energy issues" to maintain the sector's competitiveness.
