The facility was established on the eve of the Revolution in 1786 by Antoine Lavoisier, General Manager of the Royal Administration of Powders, as a replacement for a wire-drawing mill constructed along the Indre River a few years earlier.

In 1961, the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA) assumed control of the site and a significant portion of its workforce, placing it under the direction of the Military applications division [fr] (DAM).

This location, situated along the primary east-west thoroughfares of the Loire Valley and the principal north-south routes traversing Paris to Bordeaux, appeared to offer a strategic advantage.

Furthermore, the saltpeter utilized in the production of gunpowder was conducive to its formation on the walls and within the tuffeau quarries of these provinces, due to the temperate and humid climate of the Loire Valley.

[2] The factory ceased operations in 1785,[F 3] having been unable to overcome severe financial difficulties, primarily linked to the economic crisis caused by the American War of Independence.

Despite several appeals for assistance to King Louis XVI, which went unanswered,[3] the company was ultimately unable to secure the financial support it required to remain operational.

A novel method of manufacturing powder was devised in the Paris region, offering a significantly more expeditious (a mere few hours) and straightforward alternative to the conventional hammer system.

[G2 2] To demonstrate the competitiveness of his facility, Riffault improved the hammer technique, invented a rapid drying process in a kiln, and revived Ripault, which was officially maintained in 1796.

Furthermore, the explosion of the Grenelle powder mill [fr] on August 30, 1794 (which resulted in the deaths of approximately 536 individuals and injuries to 827[9]) prompted a shift in production to provincial sites.

To meet the demands of Napoleon III's wars (Crimea, Italy, and Mexico),[15] the powder factory underwent extensive renovations, including the exchange of equipment between facilities.

[21] In the period preceding the First World War, between 1911 and 1914, the factory was equipped with three presses, a thermal power plant, and a connection to the Paris-Bordeaux railway line from Monts station [fr].

[Note 3] Consequently, by the early 20th century, the various production workshops and storage areas, which were modest in size, were widely dispersed across the site and separated by embankments and hedges.

[Note 4] All personnel working within the Ripault facility were required to change into a black uniform made of flame-resistant wool and to wear rubber sandals or non-nailed wooden clogs, all of which were to be maintained on-site.

[F 11] Notwithstanding the aforementioned precautions, some explosions and fires occurred at the Ripault in 1811, 1825 (12 fatalities on August 3), 1839, 1877, 1901 (18 deaths on September 18[30]), 1917 (three successive accidents with two victims in total), and 1925.

[36] Some of the powder stocks were destroyed on the premises by the directives of the prefect,[37] while others were concealed in the cellars of Château de la Roche-Racan in Saint-Paterne-Racan, situated to the north of the department.

[43] The French youth work brigades [fr] were dispatched to the Ripault site that morning to assist in the cleanup of the damaged cannon powder workshops.

The detonation of a convoy undergoing unloading resulted in the formation of a crater 15 meters in depth and led to the destruction of a considerable portion of the facilities,[F 12] with 21 workshops being reduced to rubble in successive explosions.

[50] The French newspaper La Dépêche du Centre [fr], which was subject to rigorous oversight by the German occupation authorities,[Note 10] did not disclose the precise location of the explosion in its edition of October 19, 1943.

On Friday, October 15, while the wagons were situated at the factory near its southern entrance on the Montbazon road, analyses were conducted which revealed that the moisture content of the nitrocellulose was only 5%, a figure which fell short of the 25% required to limit the risk of explosion.

It was inappropriate to ship the explosive under these conditions, and the regional prefect requested that the Minister of Industrial Production [fr] impose sanctions on the director of the Saint-Médard powder factory.

[G2 23] This hypothesis, however, cannot be substantiated due to the absence of nearby witnesses who survived the incident, the unavailability of the bodies of the victims in the unloading area, and the destruction of any potential material evidence by the explosion's intensity.

In 1947, following the conclusion of the war, the inaugural safety measure adopted in Monts to mitigate the potential consequences of a similar incident was the establishment of a buffer zone, wherein the construction of residential properties was prohibited in the vicinity of the powder factory.

[16] To retain the services of the powder factory personnel, whose positions were vulnerable due to the reduction in traditional operations, a diverse array of novel trades was introduced at Ripault.

[G2 29] In 1950, the Court of Auditors determined that this commercial activity was incompatible with the powder factory's status, resulting in the transfer of production to Roger Bellon's laboratory [fr],[57] which had previously served as a subcontractor.

[59] In addition to its primary production, the powder factory also manufactured specific Peintures Valentine [fr] to offset the damage caused to the Gennevilliers facility during wartime.

[G2 30] In 1959, Pierre Guillaumat, Minister of Armies, announced the definitive cessation of activity at the Ripault powder plant as part of a national reorganization plan, with production transferred to Pont-de-Buis-lès-Quimerch.

[F 7] In 1961, the site was taken over by the CEA for the Directorate of Military Applications [fr] (DAM), resulting in the reassignment of forty workers, as announced by Prime Minister Michel Debré.

The Ripault facility commenced work on developing firing mechanisms for French nuclear ballistic missiles and conducted research in the field of fuel cells.

[71] The Pinsonnière industrial park, occupying part of the land previously used by the powder plant before its closure (such as the Gargouserie), but extending beyond, covers eight hectares and is home to sixteen companies employing approximately eighty individuals in 2018.

[72] The presence of the CEA unit, which is not subject to the Seveso Directive, does not necessitate the implementation of a technological risk prevention plan [fr] for Monts and the neighboring towns (Artannes-sur-Indre, Joué-lès-Tours, Montbazon, Sorigny, Thilouze, and Veigné).