Le Duff abandons its factory project contested by environmentalists, which provided for the creation of 500 jobs near Rennes

The agri-food group Le Duff has "ended its project" for 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 group's president, Louis Le Duff, in a press release on Tuesday.

Among the world leaders in bakery and catering, Le Duff initiated a project in 2017 to build a factory for pastries and bread for its main brand, Bridor. This project alone provided for an investment of 250 million euros and the creation of "500 non-relocatable jobs". The site was to be set up in Liffré, about twenty kilometers from Rennes, with the aim of commissioning “at the end of 2021”.

But the project was highly contested, especially because of the use of agricultural land and the amount of water needed to operate. According to the press release, once all appeals from opponents of the project have been “purged”, “it would take 2 years of construction for this type of industrial site. This construction work could therefore probably not begin before 2026, bringing the start of the site to 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 to around a hundred countries. It employs more than 35,000 people, for a turnover of 2.05 billion euros in 2019.