The French government has approved a 2 million euro loan for Fibre Excellence, the last remaining paper pulp producer in France. The loan, provided through BpiFrance Assurance Export as part of the Fund for Economic and Social Development (FDES), aims to support the company’s Saint-Gaudens plant in the Haute-Garonne region, near Toulouse. The facility has been under judicial recovery since late April, and the company is working to find a way to keep the plant operational. This financial support comes as the company seeks to avoid closure and secure new investment. The Minister of Industry, Sébastien Martin, has rejected calls from the Occitanie region to temporarily nationalize the Saint-Gaudens plant. This would have allowed time for an industrial partnership to be formed. According to local reports, a Portuguese industrialist involved in paper pulp and hygiene products has expressed interest in acquiring the plant. On September 15, the Toulouse commercial court granted Fibre Excellence a three-month extension to allow potential investors to finalize their offers. This extension followed a hearing on September 8, during which the public prosecutor’s office requested more time. In a separate development, the French government has taken control of safety measures at the Fibre Excellence plant in Tarascon, Bouches-du-Rhône, which is currently not in operation. This move was made to address concerns about the "negligence" of the judicial liquidator, who had encouraged former employees to restart the plant. Since early September, the safety of the site—classified as Seveso low threshold—has been a point of contention between the judicial liquidator, the local prefecture, and former employees. The conflict escalated after the liquidator, against the wishes of former workers, decided to shut down certain electrical systems, partially disabling the fire protection system and the wastewater treatment plant. On September 1, an accident resulted in the spill of 50 cubic meters of "black liquor" into a retention area and 6 cubic meters into the non-operational wastewater treatment plant. Black liquor is a byproduct of paper pulp production and contains various chemicals. The prefecture issued a five-page decree warning that this incident highlights the risk of future spills at the site. The decree was sent to the judicial liquidator earlier this week. The site still holds eleven tons of wood and significant amounts of chemicals, including hydrogen peroxide, propane, and heavy fuel oil, raising further concerns about environmental and safety risks.