Fibre Excellence faces liquidation, workers occupy plants as rescue offer deadline looms

The French pulp and electricity group Fibre Excellence, placed in judicial recovery in April, employs about 660 workers at its Tarascon and Saint‑Gaudens plants. On a Tuesday, employees seized control of the Saint‑Gaudens facility while awaiting a court decision on the company’s future.

Financier Mathieu Pigasse submitted a rescue bid with conditions similar to earlier proposals and was granted a three‑week extension by the Toulouse commercial court to finalize the offer. The government has been asked to raise the purchase price for the group’s electricity and secure wood supply, with calls for Bpifrance support. If the company is liquidated, up to 10,000 indirect jobs could be lost, the trade balance could suffer a €1‑2 billion hit, and significant environmental cleanup costs of around €500 million would arise.