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The Return of Black Powder: Bergerac and the New Industrial Geography of French Defence
What is the central argument of “The Return of Black Powder”, and why does it matter for European defence and dual-use markets?
The Return of Black Powder: Bergerac and the New Industrial Geography of French Defence: The reopening of gunpowder production. Defence-finance analysis; 5-pag…
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Original DFM publication · DFM Analysis report · 2025-05-08
The reopening of gunpowder production in Bergerac represents a paradigmatic case of France’s ongoing industrial rearmament. After nearly twenty years of inactivity following the relocation of operations to Sweden in 2007, Eurenco’s production site in Dordogne has been fully renovated to meet the growing demand for munitions, particularly for 155 mm shells used in Caesar howitzers, which are also deployed in Ukraine.
The €150 million investment led to the construction of fifteen new industrial buildings over 15 hectares of the old “poudrerie”, a facility originally built during the First World War to supply the army.
This analysis answers: What is the central argument of “The Return of Black Powder”, and why does it matter for European defence and dual-use markets? What does this mean for European defence funding, procurement and investment decisions? How mature and defensible is the position described in “The Return of Black Powder”? Which European actors, programmes and funding instruments are most exposed?
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The Return of Black Powder: Bergerac and the New Industrial Geography of French Defence
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What is The Return of Black Powder: Bergerac and the New Industrial Geography of French Defence?
The €150 million investment led to the construction of fifteen new industrial buildings over 15 hectares of the old “poudrerie”, a facility originally built during the First World War to supply the army.
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