• After the announcement of the closure of Tereos, in Escaudœuvres, and the suspension of activity at Buitoni, in Caudry, the territory of Cambrai, in the North, is undergoing an economic and social storm.
  • Nearly 300 jobs are directly at stake.
  • Bad news for the territory, which was regaining hope with the gigantic E-Valley logistics park and the ambitious Seine-Nord canal project.

Sinistrosis in the Cambrésis. After the announcement of the closure of Tereos, in Escaudœuvres, and the suspension of activity at Buitoni, in Caudry, the territory of Cambrai, in the North, is undergoing an economic and social storm: nearly 300 jobs are directly at stake. Bad news for the territory, which was regaining hope with the installation of the gigantic E-Valley logistics park and the ambitious Seine-Nord canal project. 20 Minutes tries to take stock

"It's been a long time since we had two tasks like this in Cambrésis," laments Charles Blangis, vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce (CCI) in charge of the territory. The entrepreneur, however, displays a foolproof optimism. "E-Valley, on the former air base, works well with big companies like La Redoute who come to set up their logistics hub. It's a wonderful spotlight. Soon, industrial projects may also see the light of day," he said.

Former flagship of the agri-food industry

The asset of Cambrésis, according to him, is the motorway junction. "We are far from the big cities, but the proximity of two major highways helps us," explains Charles Blangis. In fact, the last ten years have seen a rebound in employment in Cambrésis, with a gain of about 10%, according to INSEE. The unemployment rate, which had been rising steadily until 2015, has stabilized. The only downside: the population is inexorably aging.



The problem is that the recent announcements of closures affect symbolic sectors. In Caudry, the Buitoni factory, which was inaugurated in 1980, has long been presented as a flagship of the agri-food industry. Forty years and a change of ownership later, it seems to be paying the price for a repositioning of Nestlé. "The group is getting rid of its junk food brands. We have the impression of a non-willingness to restart after the food scandal of frozen pizzas, "does not hesitate to denounce Frédéric Bricout, the mayor of Caudry.

The end of the Buitoni factory would certainly be an ugly signal, but the city still retains a large industrial activity with L'Oréal, which employs about 450 employees and lace, historical activity of the city, where still work some 500 people. This is not the case of Escaudœuvres, 15 km away. The announcement of the closure of the Tereos sugar factory, on March 8, a few days after that of Buitoni, had the effect of a "detonation", says the mayor, Thierry Bouteman.

World number one at the end of the nineteenth century

In this town of 3,000 inhabitants, adjacent to Cambrai, the factory was to celebrate its 150th anniversary last week. "Everything was ready, we had prepared the festivities with the factory managers. We had to cancel everything. At no time did they warn us of this closure project, while the decision was not taken overnight, "regrets Thierry Bouteman.

It is above all a symbol that is extinguished because the sugar factory of Escaudœuvres was the last of the department still in operation. At the end of the nineteenth century, it was even the world's number one site for the production of sugar from beetroot, as explained in a podcast of France Culture. And long before the appearance of the sugar beet industry, sugar was already refined at the end of the seventeenth century, in the North and especially in Lille.

The end of this activity is also likely to have significant collateral effects. According to the unions, the disappearance of every job at Tereos will eliminate 13 others. Not counting the seasonal workers, about 120 people, who worked in the fall at the time of the beet harvest.

"It is a whole territory that is affected, in particular, farmers who used to buy beet pulp to feed their cows," worries the mayor. Even if the latter still believes in maintaining an activity on the site, he feels "a lot of anger and disappointment, with the impression of having been betrayed".

  • Economy
  • Food
  • Lille
  • Hauts-de-France
  • Factory
  • Closure
  • Employment
  • Cambrai