French car manufacturers PSA Peugeot Citroën and Renault are facing a grave crisis, and figures just released for new car sales in France in 2012 underline the bleak prospects for the immediate future, with the lowest number of units sold since 1997. Dan Israel reports on the plight of an industry that is estimated to employ 700,000 people in France, and which must urgently find a strategy for survival amid what has become a Europe-wide 'carmageddon'.
When French carmaking giant PSA Peugeot-Citroën announced on July 12th it was to close its major assembly plant in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a deprived suburban town just north of Paris, a ripple of fear ran through the nearby sprawling housing estates. Several, like the infamous ‘Cité des 3000’, were originally built as of 1969 to house the plant’s workers and managers and their families. But they soon became ghettos where immigrants were dumped and unemployment and poverty were rife. While recent renovation helped roll back crime, youth unemployment currently runs at around 40%, and locals are now fearful of the future once more. Rachida El Azzouzi travelled to the Cité des 3000 where many inhabitants regarded PSA's now doomed plant as their last lifeline.
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.
It is the first big social test of President François Hollande's new government. The giant French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroën has announced it is shedding 8,000 jobs, including the closure of a plant at Aulnay-sous-Bois on the outskirts of Paris. Unions have described the news as a “declaration of war”and workers have pledged to fight the factory closure all the way. President Hollande has said the cuts are “unacceptable” and told Peugeot to re-negotiate with employees. But the new government has itself come under fire from workers and unions for not putting enough pressure on the car manufacturer. Mediapart's Rachida El Azzouzi and Ellen Salvi went to Aulnay to meet the workforce.
