Slaughterhouse: a recovery is taking shape, but approval still pending

L’abattoir d’Alès toujours dans l’incertitude. Midi Libre – Alexis Béthune

Les services de l’État vont recevoir sous peu toutes les pièces avant de se prononcer.

The future of the Alès slaughterhouse is still uncertain. If there is a political will and from all the stakeholders to reopen the establishment, the resumption of activity is, in particular, conditional on obtaining the slaughtering approval.

Thus, the previous authorizations issued to Semaac, the company managing the site, placed in receivership, were valid until 2026, with work to be planned, as specified in the announcement published by the receiver during the search for a buyer.

Obtaining approval, the heart of the project

To facilitate the takeover, the town hall of Alès, already owner of the majority of the industrial equipment, also purchased the pig splitter from the failing company for €30,000. The whole thing was sold for a symbolic €1 to the buyer. An 18-year long lease was concluded with the private operator.

The change in the legal status of the slaughterhouse with the arrival of Olivier Roux does not imply the automatic renewal of the approval. The procedure must be resubmitted and examined by the State services. The latter indicate that as of February 3, not all of the documents have been submitted. The approval analysis, on the part of the Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations (DDPP), could not be launched due to the lack of a complete file.

A prefectural source indicates that it takes “two to three months of examination before validating (or not) a request of this type”.

“We are not far from the goal, reassures Olivier Roux, the prospective buyer. The slaughterhouse is a great tool, which is not obsolete but which should be supervised. But we will get there. We are monitored by the services of the State.”

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The missing documents for the filing of the approval are reportedly being transmitted: “The form of the acquiring company that I own had to be modified to comply with the new activities. It's technical. We are in the process of resolving this problem.”

During a meeting held on January 24 at the Gard Chamber of Agriculture, Olivier Roux presented his project to the breeders. A budget of €100,000 corresponding to the share capital of the acquiring company should allow the restart and restoration of the site.

The accounting guidelines are set: only 13 employees (not including Olivier Roux) are kept on staff. Salaries now represent “only” €720,000, which allows for savings of €500,000 per year.

An expense line of €60,000 for “management services” is allocated to the head of the company. For operating costs, the new boss plans a drastic plan.

According to his calculations, it is possible to save up to €200,000 by renegotiating electricity and insurance contracts, etc. It was also an electricity bill that had caused the end of the establishment. It had until then been kept afloat by the will of the Gard commercial court, the court had no choice but to pronounce liquidation for this debt.

The major contributors in favor of the project

On the substance of the matter, the takeover itself, many questions remain regarding the attitude of the major carriers. Without the agreement in principle of Joassan frères, Saveurs des Cévennes and others, there will be no takeover.

Their participation is necessary to achieve the objective of 2,400 tonnes of meat slaughtered in the year and thus achieve financial equilibrium.

Alain Joassan is still in favour of an abattoir in Alès, even though he has lost the €100,000 of share capital that he had invested. “We haven't changed our perspective. We met with Roux, even though we are competitors. In Sisteron, it's the same. There are four or five of us, but we work together. We will do the same with Roux. We want to slaughter here. It's just that we are pressed for time. Given our tonnage (1,300 tonnes per year), we need to organise ourselves. We hope for a quick recovery with a validated approval. We can't wait too long.”

The boss of Saveurs des Cévennes, often referred to as the scapegoat for the slaughterhouse's misfortunes, indicates that he will participate in the general effort: “I only commit to figures that I am able to achieve. As long as the work is well done, of course I will follow. In 2024, I had 700 tons slaughtered in Alès. 38 tons in Aubenas for lambs because I had bad feedback from customers. And 10 tons in Bourg-en-Bresse.”

The share capital of Olivier Roux's company is open to suppliers and breeders. The latter, still scalded by the loss of the money invested in Semaac, are reluctant, for the moment, to adhere to the proposal.

“I do not come with my company to sell services, insists Olivier Roux. I am the leader, but there is a whole collective with me, like the breeders who follow me.”

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