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<p>PARIS &#8212; Chanel warned Friday that a planned train line through the prized flower fields near the southern French perfume-making area of Grasse will threaten the production of its famous Chanel No. 5 scent.</p><p>France&#8217;s SNCF rail network plans to build a controversial new high-speed route &#8212; and viaduct &#8212; to ease traffic congestion between Le Muy and Cannes along the busy French Riviera, one of Europe&#8217;s most visited areas.</p><p>In a statement, SNCF said the region is home to three of France&#8217;s biggest cities and simply &#8220;cannot afford to remain isolated in an increasingly interconnected European area.&#8221;</p><p>But the perfume maker is causing a stink.</p><p>Chanel issued a statement arguing the train plans would compromise the production of its best-known scents.</p><p>&#8220;The construction of a viaduct and the regular passage of high-speed trains above the flower fields would force Chanel to stop supporting its artisanal activities in the region,&#8221; the statement read, referring to Grasse, one of the world&#8217;s most famous perfume-making sites.</p><p>Chanel No. 5 &#8212; created in 1921 and made world-famous by blond bombshell Marilyn Monroe &#8212; relies on extracts of &#8220;Grasse&#8221; jasmine and May rose that are cultivated in and around Grasse. The scent is said to have remained unchanged for decades.</p><p>Chanel has been supporting a campaign to put Grasse&#8217;s perfume-making area on UNESCO&#8217;s protected heritage list, and it successfully lobbied in 2009 to end a project to create a refuse center near the flower gardens in Pegomas and the Siagne Valley.</p><p>The luxury fashion house is lobbying French authorities to support an alternative route, using an old goods station in Cannes that&#8217;s owned by the SNCF.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">In this AP file photo, bottles of Chanel No. 5 perfume are displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art&#8217;s Costume Institute exhibit in New York. Chanel is making a stink over a possible high-speed train line through jasmine fields in Provence, warning it could threaten production of its Chanel No. 5 perfume. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_AP16337366194909.jpg</photo0><caption0>In this AP file photo, bottles of Chanel No. 5 perfume are displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art&#8217;s Costume Institute exhibit in New York. Chanel is making a stink over a possible high-speed train line through jasmine fields in Provence, warning it could threaten production of its Chanel No. 5 perfume. </caption0><photoCredit0>AP photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Thomas Adamson</p><p>Associated Press</p></bylineMeta></div>

Train across flower fields threatens No. 5 perfume