Back to the land of childhood. “In my Occitan plain we have leather in our skin” by Catherine Escrive

All night long, the Autan wind blew across the Graulhet plain. It slipped through the shutters of the Mégisserie du Midi. In the dryer, located at the top of the factory, dozens of hides in the expert hands of the workers. T are hung, ready to go to the factory since I was 15. I find familiar sensations there. The very musky smell of the hides. But above all what we learn, here, from childhood, the touch of leather to assess its suppleness, its velvety texture, its grain, its luster. In 1987, my father’s company, who died suddenly, had to close its doors. This period coincides with the beginnings of the deindustrialization of Graulhet.

Along the Dadou River that crosses the city, most of the red brick factories have become derelict. In thirty years, the city has gone from 100 to 18 tannery factories. From 3,000 jobs in 1980 to 140 today. The factory of François Roques, who receives me that morning in the company of the former tanner Patrick Calmès, is still operating and employs eight people. “Since the beginning of the 1990s, work has moved to China, India, Bangladesh and the Maghreb,” explains Patrick. François adds: “It is also petrochemicals that have killed leather, because new synthetic textiles based on petroleum have come to replace natural skins. However, there is nothing more solid or ecological than animal leather.” The companies that have survived the crisis have reoriented themselves towards luxury and innovation, particularly through stretch leather. François Roques specializes in rare leathers. He tans tuna, ray and even ostrich skins. The tanner also produces washable and biodegradable leathers.

The cradle of leather

What about leather goods, the other flagship activity of the sector? To find out, I go to the town of Briatexte, seven kilometers from Graulhet. I know this village well, having spent some happy times there in the Notre-Dame-de-Beaulieu parish, led by Father Pradines, a priest who brings together the catechized children of the surrounding area – sons of workers, farmers, shopkeepers or bosses – for unforgettable bike rides in the hills. Today, I am expected by Philippe Serres, head of the family leather goods factory created in 1927.

Her workshop of fifteen employees works for major French luxury brands: “It is often said that a skin that passes through Graulhet is transformed into a wallet in a week. We are the only French city to hold all the links in the leather industry and we want to make this asset known well beyond the Tarn.” An objective shared by Marie-Laure Biscond, co-founder, in 2012, of the Bandit manchot brand which produces items from recycled leather: “We are working on the issue of transport, housing and training to attract investors,” explains the person who chairs the Graulhet le cuir collective, bringing together business leaders in the industry. “Long in the shadow of aeronautics and pharmaceuticals, Graulhet la travailieuse remains too discreet,” adds Bruno Bouffier, co-director of the company BFM France, designer and manufacturer of equipment for leather goods makers. In ten years, he and his partner, Norman Sébastien Saint-Georges, have transformed this punch factory into a mechanical company designing innovative tools: “We would love to participate in the installation of a large production unit here!” “The creation of 400 jobs would be enough to revitalize the entire leather industry,” emphasizes the mayor of Graulhet, Blaise Aznar, who shares their aspiration.

Industrious, long considered one of the dirtiest and most polluted cities in the department, Graulhet has made a lot of effort to improve its reputation. Red, blue, green, black: in my childhood, the water of the Dadou changed color depending on the pigments released by the factories. But that has changed. For the first time in my life, I am contemplating a river with translucent waters. On the banks, guided walks dedicated to medicinal plants growing on the banks of the Dadou are occasionally offered. Who would have believed it? In thirty years, the leather industry has become green! Most of the leather tanners have obtained the Leather Working Group (LWG) ecological label, adapting their practices to the new environmental standards. Christophe Bernard, technical director of the treatment plant created in 19912, proudly confirms this to me by showing me the immense basins calibrated to treat the water of a town of 400,000 inhabitants, while Graulhet has 14,000: “This river has shown us all sorts of things! But since the creation of the plant, I have bathed and fished in it without fear.”

A heritage city

However, Graulhet still does not attract the crowds: “There are almost no shops left in town and not a single restaurant outside the industrial zone,” confides Colette, 85, from the garden of her small house. In a town where the annual income per capita is lower than the national average and where the unemployment rate reaches 15.5% in some neighborhoods, everyone has withdrawn into their own world: the pétanque club at the aerodrome, the En Gash and Crins neighborhoods, the few residential areas or the hamlets in the surrounding countryside. “Everyone has stayed in their area to withstand the storm of deindustrialization and unemployment,” notes Marc Bousquié, director of the En Gach neighborhood school and coordinator of the Priority Education Network (REP). He set up the civic trail Patrimoine mégisserie which allows children to discover the industrial history of their town. “We are in the constituency of Jean Jaurès, who also supported the Graulhet workers during the great strike of 1909. This memory has not been worked on much. The inhabitants need a great common story to project themselves together towards the future,” adds the teacher.

Even though Graulhet remains in the shadow of elegant Albi, located twenty-seven kilometers away, some rewarding projects are moving forward: after four decades of waiting, a comprehensive high school has just opened. “Until now, nearly 300 teenagers left the city each year, just after the third year. These young people will now stay for three more years and contribute to the renewal of our employment area,” notes city councilor Blaise Aznar.

All rugby players!

Just a stone’s throw from the town hall, another unmissable place irrigates the town with its energy: the Noël-Pélissou rugby stadium. All school children are introduced to the oval ball there. Created in 1910, the Sporting Club graulhétois had its glory days. The tanners were the first financiers and the workers there were excellent players. “Working in a factory was ideal for shaping the bodies and temperaments of rugby players,” insists Renaud Martinet, co-president of the club. Mattéo and Yahia, 16 years old – friends for life – tell me that they would never have met without the club, one living in the countryside, the other in the city.

For Olivier Planès, director of the training center: “The club is a real institution. We play a rough, fraternal, friendly rugby. For us, it’s a sport of encounters, which creates bonds between all backgrounds.” Contrary to what some sponsors are demanding, the managers refuse to set up private boxes so that all spectators can continue to rub shoulders, regardless of class or origin. In these stands that bring together 5,000 people on big match days, the atmosphere is festive, popular and unifying. “The club is the city’s thermometer,” notes Renaud Martinet. And at the moment, the temperature is good since the youth team has just won the French Espoirs nationaux championship. A good omen for Graulhet, which intends to win another game: that of reindustrialization.

1) A tanner works with small skins (sheep, lambs, goats, cows, fish, etc.). A tanner works with large skins (calves, cows, bulls, buffalo).

2) The station was financed equally by the tanners and the State for 40 million euros.