• Organized by Garonne Fertile, which brings together local players (producer groups, river promotion associations, restaurateurs, grocery stores, etc.), goods reached Bordeaux at the beginning of May by barge, on the Garonne.

  • The Damazan-based platform estimates that it could transport 25 tonnes per week to Bordeaux.

  • However, the handicaps of this mode of transport are its slowness (two hours by road versus two days by the river) and its cost.

    But customers are now ready to pay a little more for ecological reasons according to the promoters.

Zucchini, honey, beers, jams, soaps etc.

so many goods from Lot-et-Garonne which joined the Bordeaux metropolis at the mercy of the current, at the beginning of May, aboard the barge Tourmente, from L'Équipage.

Organized by Garonne fertile, which brings together local stakeholders (producer groups, river promotion associations, restaurateurs, grocery stores, etc.), this transport had demonstration value.

If the entire sector remains to be structured, fertile Garonne has proven that freight is possible between Damazan (Lot-et-Garonne) and Bordeaux.

"We also hope to make other players want to use this means of transport," comments Sébastien Labelle, director of the Manger bio Sud Ouest platform.

A crying lack of infrastructure

"I will be auditioned by the National Assembly at the start of the school year because there is relatively little experimentation on the subject," he explains. The activities of Fertile Garonne aroused the interest of the commission on the revival of river freight. Aware that there is a great lack of infrastructure on a river which has been stripped of its economic value in favor of an exclusively tourist development, the group has no illusions in the short term: the locks, loading pontoons and unloading, will not be installed quickly. “The truck benefits from a nickel highway and logistics platforms, points out Jean-Marc Samuel de L'Equipage, river transporter. We must build the equivalent for boats. Where can I moor on the quays in Bordeaux? The port welcomed us in Bassens but it was for a one shot ”.

“Obviously, equipment is needed, but it will take ten years,” comments the director of Manger bio Sud Ouest.

We have to manage to activate things by then, with our means.

The Damazan-based platform estimates that it could transport 25 tonnes per week to Bordeaux.

"We supply the canteens of schools, colleges and high schools, mainly in Gironde but also throughout the region and also, more marginally, hospitals", explains Sébastien Labelle who estimates that it will be necessary to wait at least two years for the company to take a new course towards freight.

Other working methods

To achieve this collectively, it will be necessary to make a change in the way we work, underlines Garonne fertile. Instead of two hours by road it takes almost two days to cover the distance between Damazan and Bordeaux by the river. "A classic restaurateur will be used to ordering Monday for Wednesday, there with river transport it will be necessary to anticipate and order four to five days earlier", warns the director of Manger bio Sud Ouest. In the end, this mode of transport costs more because it requires more intermodality, but customers are also now prepared to pay a little more for ecological reasons, assure the promoters. "We must not forget that the cost of truck congestion has been monetized and that it is very high", underlines Jean-Marc Samuel.

"Since 2000, we have been attacking the mountains with a teaspoon", acknowledges the manager of SAS L 'crew.

It is carrying out a project to build a hydrogen boat that could in particular supply a refrigerated compartment, essential for transporting perishable products on the river.

While much remains to be done to develop freight, he believes that between Damazan and Bordeaux the sector is ripe.

It is perhaps this connection that will give the expected impetus, like what Garonne fertile wanted to do with his test trip.

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  • Truck

  • Freight

  • Garonne

  • Transport