They are demanding “several tens of thousands of euros” from Timac-Agro. This Thursday, several environmental associations will be present before the environmental center of the Brest court (Finistère) to demand accountability from the fertilizer giant. Based in Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine) and Tonnay-Charente (Charente-Maritime), the multinational owned by the Roullier group is accused of several violations of environmental law. In Saint-Malo, it is in particular the releases of ammonia which are accused of polluting the air of the inhabitants of the corsair city. Commissioned by the prefecture to study the releases, the AirBreizh association confirmed “the influence of a local source emitting ammonia”. In this small, very touristy town known for its “breath of fresh air”, the average level of fine particles is close to metropolises like Saint-Brieuc or Rennes, where road traffic is much higher. Residents had even banded together to try to obtain the conviction of the industrialist but they are still waiting.
In Tonnay-Charente, it is more the storage methods of Timac which are singled out. Analyzes carried out this summer by the ARS in the gardens neighboring the factory revealed a chilling reality. The zinc concentrations are thirty times higher than the norm, those of mercury six times higher and those of lead five times higher. On Thursday, four associations will seek compensation from the subsidiary of the Roullier group: Eau et rivières de Bretagne, France Nature Environnement, Bretagne Vivante and Nature environment 17. “The associations believe that they are suffering heavy damage. They have the feeling that the actions they put in place to protect the environment are annihilated by violations of Timac legislation,” recalls Me Thomas Dubreuil.
The lawyer will claim “several tens of thousands of euros” in each of the two cases to compensate for this damage suffered. As this dispute is judged in civil court, no criminal conviction can be handed down by the environmental court. The company has several times been notified by the Ille-et-Vilaine prefecture to regulate its ammonia releases. Warnings which do not seem to have pushed the company to comply with them. Breton associations will meet in front of the group’s headquarters in the port of the corsair city.
In 2022, the Roullier group had a turnover of more than four billion euros, largely generated abroad. An amount that has doubled in less than five years, due to multiple acquisitions.