“The court has deliberated on the order of the judicial liquidation in 48 hours”, explained the president of Place du Marché, Brieuc Fruchon, to the press, at the end of the hearing on Wednesday.
"The judge said he needed to take this 48-hour period given the importance of the case and the number of employees in the group" but "there is no hope of recovery", said the secretary of the Committee social and economic (CSE), Wafaa Kohily (CGT).
No candidate has indeed presented itself for the takeover of the group, which has been in receivership since November 2022.
"We are angry, in total disarray. 1,600 families will find themselves on the floor," lamented Ms. Kohily, not counting the 300 employees of sister companies Eismann and Touparlog whose fate will also be sealed by the court.
"The judge was quite attentive to the various requests in relation to the protection of employees. We are clearly asking to be respected in our dignity and our work. We are asking for a supra-legal payment of 100,000 euros per employee", declared the secretary of the CSE.
"In concrete terms, our priority is to work on the preparation of this judicial liquidation and to support the employees as well as possible, with the services of the State, so that they bounce back as quickly as possible", underlined Brieuc Fruchon.
Toupargel, then already in receivership, was taken over in January 2020 by the Agihold holding company of the brothers Léo and Patrick Bahadourian, co-founders and shareholders of the flourishing Grand Frais brand.
The company had renamed itself Place du Marché in 2021, with the idea in particular of significantly extending its offer beyond frozen foods, towards fresh products and groceries.
The project also aimed to accelerate online sales, while the company built its model on telephone sales, but this strategy failed.
© 2023 AFP