An explosion took place during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday in a water factory in Volvic, in Puy-de-Dôme, causing “significant damage” and its technical shutdown, we learned on Wednesday from the public prosecutor’s office. Clermont-Ferrand. “Our Volvic production site was the victim of a malicious act”, without causing any injuries, the management of Volvic (Danone group) told AFP.
An inscription was found on a wall, saying: “Water extractivism? No, but in the water,” said prosecutor Dominique Puechmaille, confirming information from the daily La Montagne and BFM TV. A complaint was filed and an investigation was opened, carried out by the gendarmerie research section, to try to clarify how the events unfolded. “There was no production today because it is May 1st. Production was supposed to start tomorrow (Thursday, editor’s note) which will not be possible,” Volvic management explained to AFP. “All our teams are mobilized to be able to restart as quickly as possible,” the same source said. “The damage is of a technical nature and has no impact on the quality of the water,” assured Volvic, “condemning with the greatest firmness this act which aims to harm the activity of a historic local company “.
Activity will restart “at the earliest between tonight and tomorrow (Friday) morning” and “at the end of the week at the latest”, announced Emmanuel Gerardin during a press conference Thursday inside the factory, in front of production lines that have come to a complete standstill. The damage is “difficult to quantify” and represents “a few million bottles over a day”, he added, condemning a “serious and intolerable” act.
