Overview
- The commercial court in Toulouse ordered judicial liquidation of the Fibre Excellence plant in Tarascon on Wednesday, July 29, after finding the sole bid insufficient.
- About 100 of the site's roughly 270 employees blocked two main roundabouts and partly occupied the factory on Monday, August 3, to force an urgent meeting with management.
- The rejected bid came from financier Matthieu Pigasse and was turned down specifically because it did not include additional guarantees from the state.
- Fibre Excellence, France’s top pulp producer, also generated on‑site electricity but that activity has become loss‑making after a sharp rise in wood and woodchip costs.
- The court has delayed a final decision for the Saint‑Gaudens site while an industrial buyer formalizes a takeover plan, leaving jobs and production at some sites in ongoing legal uncertainty.