Laid-off French workers for the struggling family-owned business of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who arrived in Paris early on Saturday from Saudi Arabia after announcing his resignation and who is due to return to Beirut by Wednesday, are demanding that he settle claims for a total of about 15 million euros in unpaid wages.
Earlier this month, telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent announced it was to axe 1,430 jobs in France, representing 15% of its French workforce, and affecting every site in the country. Mediapart finance and business writer Martine Orange analyses the steady decline of a former flagship of French industry since its merger with America’s Lucent, when what was supposed to be a new, world giant has crumbled amid a series of strategic errors and the fratricidal effects of Europe’s deregulated telecommunications market.
The ailing French car industry has given President François Hollande and his government their first major social and industrial challenge since coming to power in May. Earlier this month, the country’s largest manufacturer, PSA Peugeot Citroën, announced it was to slash 8,000 jobs and close its major plant at Aulnay-sous-Bois, near Paris, ending months of rumour and company denials. This week, just as the new cash-strapped socialist government announced a modest plan of aid for the car-making sector, a programme described by one expert as "trying to put out an immense fire with a glass of water", PSA revealed first-half losses of 819 million euros. Meanwhile, PSA workers mounted a demonstration outside the company’s Paris headquarters (photo) to vent their anger at the future lay-offs and their frustration at the government’s hitherto refusal to block the plan. Ellen Salvi and Stéphane Alliès report on a disastrous week for what was once a proud flagship of French industry.
