Breton granite has its GI (France)
Breton granite, which has to fight against aggressive foreign competition, has just been awarded the "geographical indication" (GI) label following a new system that entered into force in 2015.
After the "Siege of Liffol", (a type of seats manufactured in the Vosges and labeled in December), it is the turn of the granite of Brittany to see itself homologated geographical indication from 20 January 2017, the date of publication of the Decision in the Official Bulletin of Industrial Property, "says the Inpi.
The Inpi (National Institute of Industrial Property) recalls that the "Consumer" Act of March 2014 extended geographical indications to manufactured products, whereas previously they concerned only agricultural and viticultural products.
The geographical indication "Granit de Bretagne" covers granite extracted from quarries, riprap, semi-finished products (slices, products being finished) and finished products (funerary, roads, urban development, building, decorative products) .
Five departments are involved
The extraction and manufacturing operations must be carried out in a geographical area comprising the 4 departments of Côtes-d'Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, Morbihan and the commune of Saint-James in the English Channel . "Official sign of quality and origin, geographical indication ensures consumers the authenticity of the products they buy," says Inpi.
"It is the consecration of the reputation of the granite of Brittany, the quality of our work (...) our profession has too often suffered deceit on the origin, economically disastrous, at the heart of a globalized offer, "Said Christian Corlay, General Secretary of the Geographical Indication Association Granit de Bretagne.
The association, which currently gathers 22 companies, is delegated the defense and management of the geographical indication. "This label will make it possible to differentiate the Breton granite in the face of an international competition, particularly Chinese, often exacerbated.
Accompany an up-market product
The challenge for our industry, for our companies, is to accompany a rise in the range of our products thanks to clearly identifiable distinctive signs ", reacted in a statement the deputy of Ille-et-Vilaine Thierry Benoît.
A geographical indication consists of a product name, associated with that of a geographical area. Its characteristics are specified in a specification examined by the Inpi.
Only a group of craftsmen and companies has the possibility of submitting an application for homologation for a geographical indication.
Two other requests for geographical indications are being studied: "Savon de Marseille" and "Espadrilles de Mauléon".
