Sector Personality

Jean-Michel Morer, mayor and tireless promoter of hemp construction

Mayor of Trilport in Seine-et-Marne (5,200 inhabitants), Jean-Michel Morer has been interested in hemp since 2008. "Farmers had embarked on the somewhat crazy bet of relaunching this crop in Seine-et-Marne due to its environmental benefits. But outlets still had to be found! After numerous efforts and difficulties, we started using it first as insulation in renovation, then as part of the Ancre de Lune eco-district project in Trilport with a national first: an R+3 residence of 45 social housing units that emerged in 2021 using projected hemp concrete. I suggested to Emmanuelle Wargon, minister responsible for Housing who wanted to visit this construction, to also go see the Planète Chanvre and Wall'up préfa factories about fifteen kilometers from Trilport."

A tireless promoter of hemp construction, Jean-Michel Morer plans to build off-site buildings using prefabricated hemp concrete. "We first tested it on a boiler room, successfully, before thinking bigger." This is now done with a 1000 m² building including an after-school facility, a cafeteria and a kitchen, inaugurated in early April. Meanwhile, constructions using hemp continue in the eco-district. And Jean-Michel Morer certainly intends to create emulators! "Elected officials come to visit our projects. I intervene here and there for experience feedback. I have sensitized parliamentarians and European deputies to the formidable potential of this resource that is hemp and its environmental performance, both for agriculture, safeguarding water resources and for construction."

Association Life

Welcome to Maxence Mutel and Julie Réguème

● Arriving in October 2024 in the InterChanvre team as a business development apprentice, Maxence Mutel has as his main mission to commercialize Hemp ESS by relying on innovative marketing and commercialization strategies (mainly digital) to develop new contact points, identify new prospects and follow them up. He participated in promoting the hemp sector at the ProDurable 2024 Fair and the International Agricultural Fair 2025, two flagship events in the sector. He also contributes to translating international studies on the development of industrial hemp sectors to feed intelligence for French industrialists.

● Arriving last March as a communication apprentice, Julie Réguème will have as her main mission the organization and coordination of the All Hemp 2026 congress. In parallel, she intervenes on several aspects of InterChanvre's communication: social media management, newsletter co-coordination, creation of communication materials as well as photo library evolution. She will also be in contact with many sector stakeholders, whether to set up projects, respond to requests or circulate information.

Both reporting to Joël Lagneau, Julie and Maxence bring new blood and embody the dynamism of the sector and its interprofession.

Markets

Construction

EPR-Building: Construire en Chanvre alerts on the consequences of the sharp increase

"RE 2020 laid the foundations for an ambitious and necessary trajectory towards healthier and more sustainable buildings, recalls Construire en Chanvre. The hemp construction sector has structured itself to respond to it. However, its profitability, like that of other bio-sourced sectors, is strongly penalized by the EPR-BCMP (Extended Producer Responsibility for Building Construction Products and Materials) tax which has been multiplied by four between RE2020 and RE2025, and this only for bio-sourced products." EPR-BCMP is an eco-contribution added to the sale price of products and materials, collected by marketers and transferred to state-approved eco-organizations whose mission includes organizing free recovery of sorted waste and its valorization. This tax is 14.48 € excl. tax/t for hemp or straw against only 3.12 € excl. tax/t for concrete, which completely disadvantages the use of bio-sourced materials in construction and makes it difficult to apply RE2020 in terms of decarbonization objectives. "In addition to environmental delay, giving up RE2020 objectives would weaken bio-sourced sectors, jeopardizing investments, innovation and associated jobs and would deprive our citizens of housing more resilient to climate challenges", alerts the association.

Significant progress of bio-sourced materials in seven years

Comparing 2016 and 2023 data, AICB's (Association of Bio-sourced Construction Industrialists) first barometer confirms a clear progress of bio-sourced materials in the construction sector: +55% in value and +95% in volume. In 2023, they represented 11% of the French insulation market, or nearly 28 million square meters installed. Hemp confirms its role as a material of the future, supported by committed players like Cavac Biomatériaux or Construire en Chanvre. European dynamics are also underway thanks to AICB's opening to Belgian and German companies. However, the sector remains attentive to regulatory developments: future environmental and health declaration sheets (FDES 2025) on construction products could indeed harm bio-sourced materials if they align them with "low carbon" concrete criteria. Reflection on reuse is ongoing.

Find the first bio-sourced materials barometer

Inauguration of an after-school facility in prefabricated hemp concrete in Trilport

The municipality of Trilport (Seine-et-Marne) inaugurated on April 9 a 1,000 m² after-school facility built off-site in prefabricated hemp concrete, which accommodates up to 200 children. The result of local cooperation, the project mobilized companies like Wall Up Préfa and Planète Chanvre, under the impetus of mayor Jean-Michel Morer. For several years, the municipality has been betting on hemp to develop more sustainable construction, as evidenced by the eco-district of 45 housing units already completed. This new building embodies an ambitious vision of urbanism: respectful of the environment, users' health and local know-how.

In brief

The list of binder-hemp aggregate couples usable for hemp construction according to the new Professional Rules has been updated on the Construire en Chanvre website.

Plastics Processing

A hemp-based leather alternative 

Young German start-up, Revoltech develops a sustainable alternative to leather based on French and German hemp fibers mixed with other bio-sourced ingredients. CO₂ emissions related to the production of this material called LOVR are very low (0.3% of emissions related to leather production). LOVR is entirely compostable, almost odorless and can be dyed with mineral colorants. It is soft with a velvet-like surface. This innovative material won the German Design Award 2025 in the "Excellent Product Design - Materials and Surfaces" category. Revoltech currently works with the fashion industry, particularly in the footwear sector, as well as with the automotive industry (Kia and Volkswagen) particularly interested in meeting CO₂ emission reduction obligations. LOVR should be used in series in Volkswagen cars from 2028, particularly for interior trim, but not yet for seats. For the latter, development work is necessary to meet particularly strict requirements for usable materials.

In brief

Linière de Caen: 2024 campaign results

The Linière du Nord de Caen announces very good results and beautiful quality of long hemp fibers on its 320 ha scutched: 6.7 t straw/ha, 18% long fibers, 19% tow and a scutching rate (fiber and hurds separation) of 2,000 kg/h.

Food

Erratum (following the brief published in Newsletter N°22) 

Grand Poitiers: hemp-based products

Hemp-based products (chocolate cookies, crepes, broyé...) are manufactured by school canteens and tested by the City of Poitiers (Vienne) with the desire to use local products. Hemp-based recipes are also tested in nursing homes. Their development in collective catering is the result of Grand Poitiers' work, in partnership with Chanvre Nouvelle Aquitaine (seven departments test the development of a local hemp sector), which designed hemp-based menus adapted to different audiences and produced a recipe book. It particularly relied on menus designed by InterChanvre and Béatrice de Raynal for schools. Grand Poitiers also supported local actors to develop the use of hemp in collective catering.

Find all these recipes

Hemp in food from one year old

Rich in omega 3, iron and plant proteins, hemp is gradually entering the diet of toddlers. From 12 months, certain hemp-based products (hulled seeds, flour, oil) can be integrated into their diet to supplement their omega 3, zinc or magnesium needs. Hemp is an interesting alternative to cow's milk, eggs or gluten, often avoided in toddlers. It is easily digested and offers an excellent omega-6/omega-3 balance. If in France, its use for the youngest is still marginalized, some foreign brands are already betting on this trend: Le Puree (muffins with hemp seeds from one year) and Little Harvesters (hemp from four months in its meat purees) in Australia, Tiny Sprouts in the USA (mix of hemp seeds and plant DHA* to sprinkle). Ideas transferable at home for purees, porridges, galettes or plant milks.
*one of the omega 3

In the Field

A hemp sector under study in Alsace 

Financially supported by the Rhine-Meuse water agency which seeks to protect water catchments in the Alsace region, the Strasbourg Eurometropolis and the Alsace-Moselle Water and Sanitation Union have been studying since 2022 the possibility of creating a regional hemp sector with construction as one of the outlets (concrete and hemp wool). This project is coordinated by FRD-Codem, the Alsace chamber of agriculture and the Créaspace study office. The study concluded the agronomic and economic interest of producing hemp in Alsace with a potential of more than 3,000 ha. However, even capturing 5% of the Alsatian new construction and renovation market (currently, in France hemp's market share is 1%), this outlet would absorb at most 880 ha/year. But a minimum of 1000 ha is necessary to make a transformation tool profitable. The idea would ultimately be to export hemp-based products outside the region to reach this threshold.

Workshops carried out at the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025 on three themes ("produce and transform", "markets and public procurement", "train and teach") resulted in 24 action sheets to create an Alsatian hemp sector and build with hemp. At the end of June 2025, a meeting of project actors* will allow seeing how actions will be implemented. They also visited Planet Chanvre with an intervention by InterChanvre, Wall'up and La Chanvrière last March.
* Strasbourg Eurometropolis, Alsace Moselle water and sanitation union, Alsace chamber of agriculture, Grand Est Region, partner communities, storage organizations, technical partners in training and architecture...

In brief

Hemp seeding in video

Industrial hemp seeding started in April with ideal weather conditions (heat and water) in most production basins. How to achieve the perfect industrial hemp seeding? Find our video with Franck Barbier, InterChanvre president: short version (1'48) on LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook and full version (4'50) on Youtube.

Economy

Hemp ESS presented to the Senate 

On April 8, at the Senate, InterChanvre presented its proposal for Environmental Services Scheme (ESS) specific to hemp cultivation, before about ten senators and collaborators engaged on agricultural, environmental or sustainable construction issues. This meeting followed the invitation of Guillaume Gontard, senator from Isère, architect and president of the ecological group. The ESS would recognize the positive externalities of hemp cultivation: carbon storage, low input use, improvement of soil quality and biodiversity. This presentation, which generated constructive exchange with parliamentarians, allowed sensitizing them to ESS, obtaining their political support, and laying the foundations for a favorable framework for connecting with companies in their territories.

A big thank you to senator Guillaume Gontard for his welcome. InterChanvre continues to carry the sector's voice to public decision-makers, to have hemp cultivation recognized as an important lever in the context of agro-ecological transition.

Hemp ESS validated by Inrae and certified by Ocacia 

The development of hemp ESS relies on the expertise of partners like Inrae. InterChanvre indeed worked with Christian Huyghe, former scientific director of Inrae and now mission officer with Inrae's scientific agriculture direction, to establish the formula for calculating stored carbon and CO₂ emissions avoided by the hemp sector, from field to finished products for several markets (hemp concrete, insulation, cottonized textile and plastics processing). He confirms the relevance of hemp ESS: "In view of knowledge available to date, this work fulfills all obligations to ensure results quality. These are rigorous and can be used as a basis for environmental accounting of hemp producers and users. As climate emergency is a reality, we must work on adapting our production and life modes and reducing emissions. Your work contributes to this unquestionably." In parallel, the calculation tool was audited and certified by Ocacia, certification body.

In brief

190 M€ invested in 5 years

190 M€ have been invested by the French hemp sector over five years, including 128 M€ in 1^st and 2^nd transformation by existing hemp processing facilities, 56 M€ in new industrial projects and laboratories and 6 M€ in R&D, mainly for construction outlets. These figures illustrate the sector's economic impact and stakeholders' confidence in hemp market growth.

An online store for Virgocoop

Virgocoop has just launched its online store for 100% natural and French fabrics including several references from hemp grown in France and woven by the Atelier de Tissages d'Autan acquired in 2021. Virgocoop thus guarantees fully controlled production, from field to finished product, and makes hemp fabrics accessible to the general public.

... and La Chanvrière

La Chanvrière also announces the launch of its online store to offer a selection of its hemp-based products in food (hemp oil, hulled seeds, spread...), textile (towels, hemp shopping bags...) and animal bedding.

Regulation 

Future CAP: clearly differentiate industrial hemp and "molecule" hemp 

In the context of future CAP reform, FNPC (National Federation of Hemp Producers) and InterChanvre alert European public decision-makers to the risks of increasing authorized THC rate in the CAP framework for developing different industrial hemp applications (construction, food, textile...). To secure these different applications and avoid confusion, French hemp producers call for a clear distinction of two production types with on one side, industrial hemp (with maximum THC rate of 0.3%), agro-ecological crop that could benefit from CAP support, and on the other, hemp grown for its molecules (CBD, THC) with completely different cultural itineraries not presenting the same environmental virtues, which would be excluded from CAP scope. This distinction would secure serene development of different industrial hemp applications while giving more freedom to actors wishing to develop "molecule" hemp through differentiated processes and objectives.

Beyond Borders 

Moldova: industrial hemp cultivation finally authorized 

Moldova's Medicines and Medical Devices Agency authorized last March the production of hemp for fiber and seeds. The country now distinguishes industrial hemp from high THC cannabis. "These materials are used in many industries, including the automotive sector", emphasizes the Moldovan government, particularly its Prime Minister Dorin Recean, who recognizes hemp's multifunctionality. Farmers are now authorized to grow varieties listed in Moldova's national plant variety catalog, the EU common catalog of agricultural plant species varieties and EU member states' national catalogs. An online platform has been created to facilitate production permit applications, which remain under government supervision.

Communication 

Readership survey: the newsletter appreciated 

Following the February readership survey on this newsletter launched in 2018, 40 of you participated. The hemp newsletter gets a rating of 4.26/5. Content and sending frequency suit more than 95% of respondents. 82% consider relevant the integration of a two-minute podcast on a specific theme. We will work on this suggestion in the coming weeks.

Schedule

Coming up

● June 12 and 13: EIHA (European Industrial Hemp Association) congress in Berlin. InterChanvre will attend.

● June 19: Annual interprofessional meeting of the Lin et Chanvre Bio association in Montcavrel near Le Touquet (62): an opportunity to meet producers, scutchers, spinners, weavers, small and large brands of flax and hemp textile sectors. Visits to hemp plots and the Opalin scutching unit will be proposed.

● June 19: Defense of Térence Domer-Marie's thesis (François Rabelais University of Tours) on "Influencing social representations of a resource through networking actors: the project to grow hemp in the Landes".

● September 16 and 17: 7^th Natural Fibers and Polymers colloquium in Troyes with InterChanvre presence at stands. This multi-annual meeting, co-facilitated by APM and FRD-Codem, will provide a complete overview of latest developments in natural fiber use in plastics processing and composites at European level.

Registration for the 7th Natural Fibers and Polymers colloquium

What happened

● June 5: InterChanvre participation in the Large Crops Specialized Council of France Agrimer in Paris to represent the hemp sector.

● June 6: InterChanvre intervention invited by EIHA to CDG (Civil Dialogue Group) in Brussels to present the hemp sector ESS.

● May 21 to 25: 7^th edition of the Révélations biennial at Grand Palais in Paris dedicated to arts and crafts and creation. Nicolas Pinon, who uses plant fiber associated with urushi plant lacquer, exhibited his works consisting of shells made of hemp fibers and dust in partnership with La Chanvrière. His ASA collection includes seats, radiator, teapot in hemp and thermo-reactive lacquer. Find him here.

● April 25: InterChanvre participation in FranceAgriMer's Prospective workshop to feed reflection work around agriculture's future.

● April 8: ESS presentation to the Senate.

● April 3 and 4: The European Hemp Pole, La Chanvrière and FRD-Codem welcomed a Baden-Württemberg delegation in the context of a "Learning Expedition" learning visit around bio-sourced construction, organized by the Grand Est Region. Thanks also to the Chaux de Saint Astier team for its mobilization on this occasion.

● March 28: webinar on hemp ESS proposed by InterChanvre to the B4C (Bio Economy for Change) network.

● March 25 and 26: Planète Chanvre, Wall Up Préfa, La Chanvrière, Isohemp France and the European Hemp Pole welcomed a delegation of 25 people in the context of developing an Alsatian hemp sector project carried by the Alsace-Moselle Water and Sanitation Union and by the Strasbourg Eurometropolis.

● February 22 to March 2: InterChanvre present at the Agriculture Fair in Paris, on February 25 on a stand with Terres OléoPro notably received the visit of Marc Ferracci, Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty. On the same date, in addition to 10 political meetings organized by Euralia with Franck Barbier and his director, Louis-Marie Allard (Terres Inovia) and Nathalie Fichaux (InterChanvre) gave an hour conference on hemp news on the Acta stand. Hemp was present all week at the fair on the Agri'Expo bioeconomy Space with products from all hemp processing facilities, a true showcase of sector achievements. La Chanvrière held a stand from February 25 to 27.

● February 26 to 28: 14^th International Wood Construction Forum in Paris (Grand Palais). An unprecedented hemp presence! Thanks to the geo and bio-sourced committee initiated by hemp and wood sectors two years ago, a space was dedicated to geo and bio-sourced materials with the presence of Construire en Chanvre, RFCP and the Earth Confederation. A partnership allowed creating a space for bio-sourced material companies where Biofib, FRD-Codem, Wall Up Préfa, Saint Astier, Ekopolis could exhibit. InterChanvre sponsored architects so the gallery would welcome hemp concrete achievements. Sector actors participated in daily conferences as witnesses or facilitators. For the next edition (Grand Palais in February 2026), Construire en Chanvre will have the pleasure of presenting its National Hemp Construction Award.

Find the Wood Construction Forum video