Calais-Caudry lace obtains European protection despite the legal liquidation of Darquer

Calais-Caudry lace, in decline but of which a few manufacturers remain in Pas-de-Calais, is now protected in the 27 EU member countries, the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) announced on Tuesday. In addition to the famous lace, prized by great couturiers around the world, eight other additional French know-how are now “registered at European level”, specifies the INPI: turning and tableting from the Jura massif (woodworking), as well as seven construction materials: stones from Midi, Limeyrat, Fontbelle, Paussac/Paussac-et-Saint-Vivien, Vianne, Mareuil, and Arudy.

“They now benefit from the IGP label: protected geographical indication for artisanal and industrial products,” declared the INPI in a press release. The institute recalls that “since December 1, 2025, a European regulation has made it possible to register protected geographical indications (PGI) for artisanal and industrial products at the European Union level.” The registration of this new know-how “brings to 15 the number of French geographical indications extended on a European scale, out of a total of 24”, specified the institute. Limoges porcelain and Brittany granite were already among these IGPs.

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The oldest lace factory in Calais liquidation

Obtaining this official sign of quality and origin for the famous lace comes a few weeks after the liquidation of Darquer, the oldest lace factory in Calais, founded in 1840. The company still employed 45 employees before its activity ceased in mid-July. Darquer still operated “around forty” Leavers looms, enormous cast iron machines designed in England at the beginning of the 19th century and then perfected with the Jacquard system.

This technique, which makes it possible to obtain extremely fine products, gave birth to the lace industry in Calais (Pas-de-Calais), then also in Caudry (Nord), which experienced its golden age at the beginning of the 20th century. The sector is particularly struggling with competition from knitted lace, often made in Asia at a much lower cost.