Development of iconic perfume threatened by high-speed rail plan
Chanel says it will leave Grasse, dubbed the perfume capital of the world, unless plans are dropped to drive a TGV line through the fields of flowers required to make the world’s most famous scent
Wikimedia Commons/arz
Wikimedia Commons/arz
GRASSE, France — Chanel, the French perfume maker, has threatened to abandon the historic Provence site where it grows flowers for its iconic No. 5 scent if a high-speed rail line crossing its fields goes ahead, The Telegraph reported.
In an angry open letter to planners, the luxury goods house says it will leave Grasse, dubbed the perfume capital of the world, unless plans are dropped to drive a TGV line through the fields of flowers required to make the world’s most famous scent, the report said.
France's state-owned SNCF railway company maintains that the new 6.7-billion euro ($7.2 billion) line would cut travel times from Marseille to Nice along the Riviera by an hour, and that the line desperately needs investment as it is the most congested in France outside of Paris, according to The Telegraph.
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