Overview
- Occitanie president Carole Delga met Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu in Paris on Thursday, and the region said the government is ready to table new proposals to the shareholder in exchange for fresh investment in higher‑value pulp processes.
- Fibre Excellence faces possible court‑supervised restructuring on April 15, a step under French law called redressement judiciaire, which could threaten the Saint‑Gaudens and Tarascon sites and hundreds of jobs.
- Union leaders and local officials want EDF to pay more for the mills’ on‑site power, arguing a 2019 contract forces sales at a loss and that a legally allowed tariff revision of up to 20% could stabilize cash flow.
- Workers and elected officials rallied outside the Saint‑Gaudens plant Thursday, warning the loss of the area’s largest private employer would ripple through families, suppliers, and local shops.
- The company employs about 670 people and produces roughly 500,000 tonnes of pulp a year, and environmental groups say an owner exit could shift unemployment and costly site cleanup to taxpayers.