Occitanie Calls for Temporary Nationalization of Fibre Excellence Paper Mill

Occitanie is asking the French state to take a temporary, majority public stake in the Fibre Excellence paper mill at Saint-Gaudens before the company could face liquidation.

Regional President Carole Delga said the state should provide €15 million, including €5 million in capital and €10 million in cash. The Occitanie region would contribute €13 million, split between €8 million in capital and €5 million in cash.

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I am asking for a temporary nationalization of Fibre Excellence, with the state taking a stake, to allow time for an industrial partnership to form.

Delga said the temporary nationalization would buy “three to four months” to form an industrial partnership. She argued that the commercial court’s procedures do not provide enough time for the recovery project to secure a partner.

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We need three to four more months

“We need three to four more months” to find “a foreign investor,” Delga said. A Portuguese industrial company visited the Saint-Gaudens plant on Tuesday, she added.

The mill has been shut since April and employs 270 people. The group’s other site, in Tarascon, entered liquidation on July 29. The Saint-Gaudens company could also be liquidated on Sept. 8 if the commercial court makes that decision. The court has asked for improvements to the current takeover offer by Thursday.

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a foreign investor

“This country needs people to fight, to stop the inertia,” Delga said. She stressed that the proposed state participation falls under the authority of the president of the republic.

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This country needs people to fight, to stop the inertia.