Delay to Banque de France’s New Printworks
The proposed relocation of the Banque de France’s banknote printing plant has been put back to 2026.
The project, which started in 2016, involves the move of the Chamalières printworks to the same site in Vic-le-Comte as the BdF’s paper mill, under a project titled ‘Refondation’.
An artist’s impression of the new printworks adjacent to the paper mill in Vic-le-Comte.There has been some doubt over the years as to whether the move – which involves an investment of €220 million, including new equipment – will indeed go ahead. The original date for the relocation was 2022, but this is now when the final green light for the project will be given. The delay is due in part to the bankruptcy of the original project manager. The plan has also met with fierce union opposition.
Just over half of the production of the Chamalières printing house is for euro banknotes, the rest for other currencies, mainly for the CFA franc zone, in Africa. It produces c. 2.5 billion banknote per years.
A new project manager has now been appointed and, according to the BdF, ‘the work planned between 2023 and 2025 will be followed by a validation phase for new facilities, particularly those relating to security, which would lead us to a move in 2026’.
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