Sunday morning October 18, the inhabitants of Dunkirk discovered small stickers stuck on bus shelters or traffic signs.
“
Clarebout, the scam from start to finish
”, “
Clarebout, we're going to bite our fingers
”, we could read.
At the origin of this operation: a collective called "
Stop Clarebout
", made up of residents of Saint-Georges-sur-l'Aa and Bourbourg, two towns located near Dunkirk (North), which for six months has been carrying out actions of this kind to denounce the project to set up an apple processing plant led by the Belgian industrialist Clarebout Potatoes, a specialist in frozen fries.
At the end of August, the Belgian group, which works with private labels and fast food restaurants, obtained the agreement of the prefecture for the establishment of a new production site in France, from which 1,400 tonnes of frozen fries should come out. and flakes per day.
The industrialist, who already has two production sites in Belgium, hopes to obtain the building permit by the end of the year.
He promises to eventually hire 320 people in France.
In spite of everything, the inhabitants of the two communes which are to house this factory want to stop this industrial project.
The members of the collective - around thirty people - which had mobilized around 200 people in June during a demonstration to say "no" to this factory establishment, denounce "
ecological nonsense
".
They fear unpleasant consequences on their living environment.
Based on the testimonies of residents living near a Clarebout factory in Belgium, they are worried about the “
nuisances
” that this site would generate according to them: “
grease rains
”, “
grease
odors
”, “
egg rotten
”,“
light and noise pollution linked to the activity
”,“
comings and goings of heavy goods vehicles
”,“
air pollution caused by discharges from factories
”.
They also deplore the group's lack of transparency in its public inquiry, which took place in the spring but was disrupted because of the confinement.
We are not a factory, but a large kitchen.
A spokesperson for Clarebout.
On the side of the management of Clarebout, a spokesperson says he is open to dialogue to reassure residents and recognizes "
perhaps a lack of communication
".
He ensures that the project has been validated by the competent environmental authorities.
“
We are doing everything to preserve the living environment of the population.
We are not a factory, but a large kitchen.
The potatoes are cooked in local sunflower oil.
We are not
a Seveso site
”, which would use dangerous substances, he assures us.
According to the authorities of the industrial zone of the port of Dunkirk, the industrial project is environmentally sound.
“
This factory will not be of the same generation as the old factories in Belgium which are between 20 and 30 years old.
The technical standards set in Dunkirk are out of step with what has been done in Belgium.
Everything we have in the files shows that Clarebout is at the cutting edge of technology.
The State services which investigated the case were extremely demanding,
”says Stéphane Raison, the chairman of the Dunkirk-Port management board, who also recalls that the establishment of a factory in these towns no is no surprise.
The Clarebout factory (20 ha) must indeed be set up within the still virgin perimeter of the “
Large Industries
”
activity zone
(ZGI) of the Grand maritime port of Dunkirk.
An opportunity for local producers
The Belgian group, which claims to be the world's fourth largest player in frozen fries (660 million euros in turnover in 2018), also promises to work primarily with local producers.
Unlike local residents, they also rather favor this plant project.
"
It's an interesting business opportunity
,
"
said Christian Durlin, president of the Nord-pas-de-Calais chamber of agriculture.
“
Belgian and Dutch industrialists buy a lot of potatoes from farmers in Hauts-de-France, which they transport to Belgium for processing.
There, we bring a factory back to the middle of the production basin.
That's jobs, and fewer truck trips,
”he adds.
But the members of the “Stop Clarebout” collective do not disarm and intend, failing to prevent this factory from emerging from the ground, to delay its establishment as much as possible. For this, they intend to file a lawsuit. To pay the legal fees, an online kitty has been created and has raised to date nearly 3,000 euros. Perhaps enough to delay the establishment of this factory, at least time for residents to make up their minds.
