Fibre Excellence has declared itself in a state of cessation of payments, confirming that the operator of the Saint‑Gaudens and Tarascon/Provence pulp mills can no longer meet its short‑term financial obligations. The filing, submitted to the Toulouse Commercial Court on 15 April, follows the end of a conciliation procedure and reflects a liquidity shortfall estimated at several tens of millions of euros. While production continues at both mills, liquidation remains a real risk unless the French State, regional authorities and the majority shareholder, Paper Excellence, reach a viable rescue agreement.
The company, which employs 545 people across its two French sites and supports an estimated 3,000 indirect jobs, now awaits a court decision on whether it will enter judicial restructuring later this month.
The insolvency stems from a combination of sharply rising costs and structural losses. Wood procurement prices have increased by roughly 50% since 2022, pushing pulpwood to around €100 per tonne, while each tonne of pulp requires close to four tonnes of wood. At the same time, Fibre Excellence recorded a €30 million loss in 2025 on its electricity activity alone. The mills generate renewable electricity from biomass, but the regulated buyback tariff paid by EDF has not been updated to reflect the surge in wood prices, leaving the company selling power at a loss. Repeated production stoppages — five weeks at Saint‑Gaudens in late 2025 and another shutdown at Tarascon beginning 2 March 2026 — further reduced revenue and cash flow.
In an effort to stabilise the situation, the French government approved a 20% increase in the electricity repurchase price on 10 April, a change intended to reduce the structural deficit on biomass‑generated power. Discussions have also included the rescheduling of public and social debts over up to ten years, state guarantees covering 50% of future industrial investments, and the integration of the Saint‑Gaudens site into the national carbon quota system. The Occitanie Region has indicated it is prepared to consider taking a minority stake in the company, while the Provence‑Alpes‑Côte d’Azur Region has reiterated its willingness to forgive a €2.3 million loan granted during the 2021 restructuring.
Despite these commitments, Fibre Excellence stated that the measures, while positive, are not yet sufficient to restore immediate solvency. The company says the proposed changes must be modelled in detail to determine whether they can offset the combined impact of high wood prices, weak pulp markets and energy‑related losses. With no confirmed takeover offer — although several industrial groups have expressed preliminary interest — the company has been legally obliged to declare insolvency.
The Toulouse Commercial Court will examine the filing on 21 April, with a decision expected on 27 April. If the court opens a redressement judiciaire, the mills could continue operating while debts are renegotiated and a recovery plan is finalised. If no viable plan emerges, the future of France’s only market‑pulp producer — and the regional forestry economy that depends on it — will be at risk.
