Thursday, May 1, three labor inspectors verbalized François Pralus in his Roanne shop (Loire). The reason? Bakeries have a ban on working their employees on this labor day.
Company
From daily life to major challenges, discover the subjects that make local society, such as justice, education, health and family.
France Télévisions uses your email address to send you the “Company” newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time via the link at the bottom of this newsletter. Our Privacy Policy
He wanted to play, he lost. François Pralus, master chocolatier of the famous Pralus pastry house opened the doors of his shop installed in Roanne on May 1, despite the ban. “I wanted to take the risk with full knowledge of the facts. I was checked and verbalized. It is the law”explains the pastry chef.
A risk he has taken for his employees, “Two young girls under 25 who wanted to work on May 1 because they are paid double” And benefit in addition to a unemployed day.
In the store, customers flocked when the two sellers saw the two inspectors commissioned by the State enter. “They arrived by the right and the left and they told us to stop everything. They took us from above”says one of the sellers, who immediately called his manager, Francois Pralus.
The latter, upon arrival, describes the three inspectors as being “Very aggressive and very upset cowboy”. “They summoned the two sellers in the back-shop and asked them for their papers”adds the pastry chef.
François Pralus came out of this confrontation with a fine, not having given in to the injunction to close his shop. It amounts to the tune of € 750 per employee who worked on May 1. “Some have said that I was an outlaw. But that the one who never sinned throws me the first stone”admits the pastry chef.
He fully assumes his decision and finds the law very unfair. According to article 3133-4 of the Labor Code, “The May 1st is a holiday and unemployed”. In other words, employees cannot work that day and the employer can in no way reduce their salary. However, there are certain exceptions:“The establishments and services which, due to the nature of the activity, cannot interrupt the work”.
We find hospital services but also cafes, restaurants or even tobacco offices. Bakeries and pastries must provide proof that their activity is “Indispensable locally”.
-“I find it absurd. We leave open only the essential shops. It is essential to go buy your cigarettes?”question upset Francois Pralus. The pastry chef does not understand why large areas, which sell the same products as him, have permission to remain open.
The only way for him to open his pastry would have been to be himself, alone, behind his counter. Except that, “Days like that, I can’t hold the shop alone, there are too many people. It’s impossible”.
This event has reacted on social networks, especially elected officials. The republican mayor of Roanne, Yves Nicolin, expressed his support for Pralus employees in a Facebook position:
“It seems indeed that the labor inspectors shocked the two young employees of Pralus pastry. As the Ministry of Labor requires showing pedagogy and flexibility, the outcome of this visit led some to deliver a feeling comparable to a search. Such methods are no longer acceptable […] Our traders, who invest heavily every day of the year to support their businesses, should be free – on voluntary employees – to open their shops or not “.
The deputy for the 5th district of the Loire, Antoine Vermorel-Marques, did the same, stressing the fact that “Ministerial instructions have been given and that the majority of deputies and senators wish to change the law” and that therefore “Labor inspection should favor support and advice rather than sanction”.
In the city, more than 80 checks were carried out on May 1. Three companies were verbalized. “The arrival of inspectors on May 1 corresponds to their mission. I am not surprised that there are checks on May 1”explains Nicolas Zemeitz, union delegate at the CFDT. The representative regrets the attitude of the entrepreneur as well as his political supporters who, according to him, would have led to the sick leave of one of the inspectors, in shock following the stir aroused by the case, in particular on the social networks.
“If Mr. Pralus wants to bring back his claims at the national level, he only has to seize Mr. Vermorel. These are not things that are discussed locally, in the small town of Roanne. These are things that must be discussed within the framework of the National Assembly. He must not deliver civil servants to pasture to social networks” conclude nicolas Zime atttogether.
A discussion that could take place soon. A few days before May 1, the centrist senators, supported by the government, had tabled a bill to allow the establishment already authorized to open on Sunday to be able to do so on the May 1, targeting in particular bakers and florists.
According to the report by Cindel Duquesnois and Amandine Poncet.
