“We are Michelin. If they come to support us, there will be no problem, but if they come to talk about themselves, they will leave.”had warned several union elected officials at the end of the morning, after leaving a meeting with the mayor of Cholet, Gilles Bourdouleix.
As announced at dawn in a press release, a delegation from La France Insoumise (LFI), composed of Manuel Bompard, national coordinator, Clémence Guetté, deputy and vice-president of the National Assembly, and Angevin Arash Saeidi, MEP, visited the factory which will close by 2026, as confirmed the day before by the management of the tire giant.
“I didn’t come to tell you that we’re going to resolve everything”Manuel Bompard immediately explains to employees, present on the site to “see what initiatives or actions can be taken to help. » And to underline: “Unfortunately, we are not the ones in charge. ».
Questioned by employees about their “lack of support” from management, Clémence Guetté was keen to point out that the Michelin group is making “record profits and continues to increase dividends paid to its shareholders”.
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“We are not naive”
“We are not naive, we know how politicians work”Jack Roux, CGT representative, told us at the start of the morning, but “ as long as they talk about us and the thug side of Michelin, then so much the better! Maybe it will bring back other politicians. »
The mayor of Cholet, Gilles Bourdouleix, is also expected on the site this afternoon, before a general meeting which will be held in front of the factory gates at 4 p.m. to decide on the follow-up to be given to this mobilization.
