At War (En guerre)

Those who fight may lose...

but those who don't fight, have already lost.

The German Dimke group have announced the total closure of the Perrin lndustrie factory in Agen

Violent protests outside management offices

Booing, insults...

Some even try to break open the door.

What happened to your promises?

The 1,100 employees of the factory have just had confirmation.

Their factory, which produced auto components, will definitely close.

They all say they've been betrayed.

2 years ago, management had committed to maintain full activity...

...in exchange for the removal of several bonuses

...and a shift to 40 hours a week, without salary increase.

Working 40 hours for 35 hours pay,

we've slogged like idiots for 2 years...

and this is the result.

The employees are disgusted.

They recall that the company, subsidiary of the German group Dimke...

...made 17 million euros in profits last year.

In front of the crowd, the factory manager blames a lack of competitiveness.

The sector has become extremely competitive.

The Agen factory has unfortunately reached the end of its competitive life.

LIAR!

Go and explain that to the people!

Go and explain to them the non-competitiveness of the industry.

You talk to me about employees... I'm talking about 1,100 people.

Go and explain to them how a business...

I'm not going to ask them to work 50 hours.

No, you're going to listen!

...that has made 17 million euros profit!

Last year.

Go explain to them how they'll lose their jobs because the factory isn't competitive enough.

Our margin rate, last year, was 3.3 per cent.

The objective of the group, in terms of net profit, is 7 per cent.

You reach a point where the books can't be balanced with a rate like that.

It's not a case of employees on one side, and management on the other.

We're all in the same boat.

Well, if we're all in the same boat...

...we're in the lower berths with the rats and the shit...

Would you please mind your language.

You're not going to shut me up now.

Anyway, we're not asking for your pity.

We're asking you to respect your assurances of 2 years ago.

We respected ours. You should respect yours.

There's no question of pity for anyone.

It's just a matter of going over the figures.

I demand that you keep your word.

It's easy.

There's one thing on which we're all agreed...

That is, we regret the closure of the factory.

The reality is that the market is unrelenting.

Neither you nor I can do anything about it.

What I see, what we all see, is, whether we come to an agreement or not,

...it'll make no difference. - Not so!

Yes! When it suits you better, when it's over...

- that's not the same thing. - Even more so! It's the same!

So say the opposite... it's all the same !

It's absolutely not the same thing.

We've sacrificed 5 hours of work a week for 2 years.

We've made our calculations, I'm not making them up...

It makes 470 hours over the 2 years.

Agreed? 1,100 employees, agreed?

When we give it a value,

that's 4,600 euros that each employee has given Perrin.

The number of employees is 1,100.

That works out at 5 millions euros.

5 million euros over the 2 years.

The 5 million is just the wages.

Add to that what you call contributions...

employer's expenses contributions...

We add 50 per cent for contributions...

3 million euros, agreed?

It's not finished!

There are bonuses as well.

We agreed to sit on the bonuses, remember?

We remember. We signed the agreement.

6 million euros, the bonuses.

That adds up to 14 million euros.

That's 14 million euros that employees have been sacrificing for Perrin over 2 years.

They're the figures.

I gather you see the 14 million as being a gift...

....that it would have served to enrich the company, the group...

It wasn't like that at all.

14 million that went into the pockets of who-knows-who.

What did this agreement serve...

...in becoming competitive again and not closing the Agen works?

So we need to thank you for deferring it until today, do we?

That's not very constructive.

It's a shame as it's not the interest of any of us to add more tension to the relationship.

We are well aware that things have not happened as we would've liked.

It's obviously very disappointing, for want of a stronger word.

This pain, I assure you...

...is something we feel too, like you.

You'll make us all cry!

It's not about making you cry...

What I want to remind you...

what I want to remind you...

...is that we are all part of this company.

We have to face up to it.

To not face up to it, is to be in denial. That will lead us to nothing positive.

Who is in denial? That's ridiculous!

The people who are trying to save their jobs?

Or those who've profited from them over the years...

...pocketing millions of euros?

Who's in denial? That's ridiculous!

What matters is that we sit down together round this table...

We're not at all "together"!

We're not together.

I'll say it again... we're in the same boat!

I'm talking about the agreement signed at the bottom of the paper that passed between us.

You had committed yourself...

Mr Borderie...

You had committed yourself...

...to protect our employment...

...not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4... at least 5 years.

At least 5 years!

We were to meet again at the end of those 5 years...

...to see whether or not the agreement would continue.

- We kept our promises. - Yes.

Are you someone who keeps his word?

Yes, but the group...

No, but I'm asking if YOU keep your word!

What I see, it's that we signed an agreement...

We kept our promise and you haven't keep your word.

You and the group haven't kept your word!

I've explained the situation to you as clearly as possible.

It's extremely simple...

Either you keep your word...

...and we resume work...

...or you don't keep your word, don't keep to the agreement...

...and we block production and the stock.

There's no other choice.

AT WAR

- Before debriefing, Sebastien... - Yes.

What's the benefit in insulting the human resources manager?

No particular benefit.

I'm talking to her... she doesn't respond.

You insult anyone who doesn't respond to you?

If they don't respond, it's an insult.

No, it's not an insult.

I'm talking to her... she ignores me.

She saw who the boss was.

You're not the boss, Sebastien.

She saw who the boss was, so she made a point of showing disrespect.

"She saw who the boss was?"

- Are you the boss? - She saw who was facing her.

She showed me disrespect!

- They'll take us for morons! - That's how we are!

This'll drive us nuts.

Got to fight smartly.

I won't let them walk over me.

She has to stop cutting people down.

Use your head!

- I am. - Don't insult people.

We need to talk.

I'm not going to be walked over.

You don't insult management.

Stop repeating yourself!

She has to stop cutting people down.

She treats us as if we're shit.

She's not like that in OUR discussions.

So you're defending her!

Listen when we talk to you. We know you, listen!

- So, if you know me... - All we're asking is "cut the insults".

We don't want to be taken for morons.

WE WANT TO RETURN!

Commotion outside the Agen town hall.

Around 400 workers from Perrin lndustrie, have mobilised...

...to demand the support of the public authorities.

Here we are!

After 2 weeks of bringing their company to a standstill...

...the unions ask the mayor, a close friend of the President...

...his help to arrange a meeting at the Elysee Palace.

We need the president of France to be involved.

It's the only way to get management to listen to us.

No answer, for now, from the Elysee or the government.

But the mayor promises to get the message across.

My struggle, before as a deputy, now as mayor...

...is for the safeguard of employment in our city.

The employees continue the pressure onto the judicial system...

...with a complaint filed in the high court.

We ask the court to order, given the non-respect of the agreement...

...suspension of the decision to close the Agen company.

You have endorsed the agreement over your signature...

You fulfilled your commitments, but them, no.

Justice is there to say...

"No to the closure."

After 23 days of conflict, the unions of the Perrin Industrie factory...

...will be received by the social adviser of the Elysee Palace...

...who was charged by the President, personally, to try to find a way out.

A crisis after the announcement of the closure of the Agen works by the German group Dimke.

A little reminder: freedom of enterprise is in the constitution.

That means an entrepreneur can open or close a business.

There are rules, but it can be closed.

Secondly, you talk of the agreement.

When there is an agreement, it's between two parties.

You have conformed to your part,

The employer did for a period of time...

...and now considers that he can't continue to make this business work.

They break this job maintenance agreement.