Sodimatex struggle: what next?

9. April 2010

April 7th, Crépy-en-Valois: workers threaten again to blow up their factory

„Without us, no cars“

Since Friday April 2nd, the workers threaten to put in fire the propane tank. They barricaded the factory after they have been circled by the gendarmerie mobile (a fast unit from the army, called for riots). Staff have already set fire to pieces of plastic and rolls of carpet at the factory, sending billowing black smoke into the sky.

Workers at a factory facing closure in France have threatened to blow up the plant unless they are given better layoff compensation. About 50 workers at Sodimatex, which makes car rugs, have been occupying the site in Crepy-en-Valois since Thursday. They are pressuring the company for better compensation. The employees have placed petrol bombs near a large gas tank and are threatening to set them ablaze. The French industry minister has condemned the move and urged the workers to settle the row through talks.

France is suffering a 10 percent unemployment rate — highest in a decade. The car industry is among the hardest-hit by the economic slowdown. Plant closings have led French workers to increasingly militant behavior, with numerous cases of boss-napping over the past year and one other case of a threat to blow up a factory.
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Negociations in the police sub-headquarter

This wednesday, after a day of negociations, the workers occupied again their place; lighting fire for the night and threatening again to put in fire the propane tank. Obvisously, the negociations haven‘t lead to what they expected. Due to pres, the ‚Trèves‘ company suggested to give them 3200euro, whereas they asked for 21 000euro. Some workers left the meeting, joigning the new occupation, while the negociations went on several hours.
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For a summary of kidnapping and actions in the french factories, you can read this link below:

The Waltz before the storm: Summary of struggles, kidnapping and actions in factories and companies, 2009

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