That's correct, Mike, but the Verilhac family is still involved so it's reasonable to assume that they do their best to keep the product distinct from that of the parent company. I also slightly prefer Clairefontaine (90gsm) to standard 80gsm Rhodia: it seems a touch smoother and possibly a purer white, but Rhodia is far easier to source in convenient formats here. I've yet to try the Rhodia R paper (90gsm cream tinted), but it's unlikely to be a disappointment.
That hard start issue will annoy some people and it only gets worse with hand oil contamination. Wet writers fare well, but the dryish broad nibs which excel at shading will need to be well tuned.
As regards fine points, I've been writing a letter on ordinary Rhodia this evening with a very flexible needlepoint dip nib and not got caught in the fibres once. That's a testament to the quality of the paper, definitely not to my abilities.
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