A week ago, the State withdrew from the project to relocate a bicycle factory from Mercier cycles to Revin, in the Ardennes.

Since then, local elected officials and residents have been dismayed by the news and worried about the feasibility of the project, which was expected to create around 270 jobs.

REPORTAGE

"A real fed up", "a deep disillusion".

The local elected officials around Revin, in the Ardennes, do not mince their words.

This city in the Grand Est region had been selected to host a bicycle manufacturing plant for Mercier cycles, the cult brand associated with Raymond Poulidor's heyday.

The project was to see the light of day by the end of the year and create up to 270 jobs.

But the prefecture announced last week that the state was withdrawing.

A territory with 27% of unemployed people

In Revin, this last-minute turnaround is incomprehensible, especially since the State was to inject more than 5 million euros in this relocation project.

The arrival of the Mercier factory raised a lot of hope in this territory in crisis.

"For a municipality like Revin, where there are 27% of unemployed, the fact of seeing 270 jobs return in the long term was a glimmer of hope and a form of pride", assures Pierre Cordier, LR deputy of the Ardennes.

Before adding, annoyed: "You can imagine the big disappointment and the anger of the citizens".

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Promise of "made in France", reindustrialisation and promotion of the bicycle, the return of the Mercier cycles seemed to tick all the boxes to seduce the State.

But the authorities explain having discovered serious facts: the project leader would be the subject of customs and tax investigations, in particular for import fraud.

We must "bring this French brand production back to France"

Accusations formally denied by the CEO of Mercier, Jean-Marc Seghezzi, who even speaks of defamation and affirms his desire to see the project succeed.

"The idea is obviously to have the possibility of bringing this French brand production back to France, despite the obstacles we are currently encountering," he told Europe 1.

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Jean-Marc Seghezzi hopes for a reversal of the state and plans to prosecute this case.

According to him, machines have even already been pre-ordered for a value of three million euros.