The agri-food group Le Duff has "ended its project" of a six-year-old Bridor pastry factory near Rennes, and challenged by environmental defenders who had taken legal action. "We cannot afford to wait 10 years, or certainly more, for our industrial project to succeed! (...) when our competitors abroad take 1 to 2 years maximum to obtain the same building permits, "lamented the president of the group, Louis Le Duff, in a statement Tuesday.
Among the world leaders in bakery and catering, Le Duff had initiated in 2017 a project to build a pastry and bread factory of its main brand, Bridor. This project alone provided for an investment of €250 million and the creation of "500 jobs that cannot be relocated". The site was to settle in Liffré, about twenty kilometers from Rennes, with the objective of commissioning "at the end of 2021".
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But the project was hotly contested, particularly because of the use of agricultural land and the amount of water needed to operate it. According to the statement, once all the appeals of the opponents of the project "purged", "it would take 2 years of construction for this type of industrial site. This construction work could therefore probably not begin before 2026, leading to the start of the site in 2028 at the earliest."
Several demonstrations had been organized against this project, in Liffré and Rennes. Based in the Breton capital, the Le Duff group delivers its breads and pastries in a hundred countries. It employs more than 35,000 people, for a turnover of 2.05 billion euros in 2019.