The tone is rising around the future of the Chapelle Darblay stationery.
This Wednesday morning, "
a hundred
" activists responded to the call of several organizations during an action to highlight this industrial issue in the spotlight for 18 months.
A gathering is currently taking place near the Ministry of the Economy, in the 12th arrondissement of Paris.
Models carrying "
SOS
"
signs
were also immersed in the Seine, near the iconic building of the ministry.
Read also: The faster than expected end of the gasoline engine threatens the future of the automotive industry in France
"
We must move from words to deeds,
" said the boss of the CGT, Philippe Martinez, in a video relayed on social networks.
"
The government has only one word to say to demand from the owner of the land and the factory to sell them so that the activity can resume
" quickly.
The trade unionist was surrounded by members of Attac, Greenpeace France and the Solidaires union, in particular.
View of the demonstration, on the banks of the Seine, near the Ministry of the Economy.
GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP
On Twitter, the Minister of Industry, Agnès Pannier-Runacher replied to the demonstrators: “
I have been working for more than 18 months alongside employee representatives and local elected officials to give a future to the
#ChapelleDarblay site
.
As they know, my door is open to trade unions.
I regret that the hand extended this morning was refused,
”she wrote.
"
What hand outstretched?
You refuse to receive the whole of our delegation
”, Attac retorted.
A petition put online to save the site
This mobilization was organized by the collective Plus Never That, in which the French branches of Attac, Greenpeace, Oxfam and Les Amis de la Terre participate in particular. In September 2019, the Finnish group UPM announced the sale of its Grand-Couronne plant, near Rouen, commonly known as the Darblay Chapel. It is the last paper recycling site in France. The activity was stopped in 2020, and, "for
lack of buyer, it is expected that it will be dismantled on June 15 by its Finnish owner
", remind the members of the collective in a forum.
The factory is however the only one in France "
to produce 100% recycled newsprint
", they underline, recalling that several elected officials, including Anne Hidalgo and Edouard Philippe, called to save it. And, if offers from buyers have been made, "
caution remains in order since some offers only relate to a small part of the plant's activity, and would therefore be damaging to the industrial, ecological and social consistency of the site. , when others have not yet presented a credible financial plan
”.
The authors therefore appeal to the State, so that “
all activities are maintained on the site
”. An online petition has also been launched: "
we, the collective of associations and unions Never again, ask the government to intervene to support the local authorities who say they are ready to take over the site
", can we? read. To date, it has collected 22,800 signatures.
