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Marie Lemaistre
Published on
June 27, 2024 at 2:02 p.m.
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At least fifty people gathered in front of the judicial court in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) this Thursday June 27, 2024morning, in solidarity with the secretaries and coordinators FO and CGT of ExxonMobil, Reynald Prévost et Christophe Aubert.
The latter two were summoned to appear in the morning before the President of the Court to explain the blocking of the site and premises of ExxonMobil in Port-Jérôme-sur-Seine, on the grounds that these disturbances would be “manifestly unlawful”, in their attack on security and freedom of work, of commerce and industry, as well as property rights.
A personal assignment
It is mainly personal aim of the summons which raised incomprehension among all the supporters of FO, CGT, CFDT, CFE-CGC, as well as simple employees present before the court, questioned by 76-.
“We know very well as a union organization that when we get into a standoff with management, we can be summoned. It’s on the personal side that it’s completely abnormal, it’s never happened,” said Reynald Prévost, from FO. “We think it’s a way of threatening and putting pressure on the strikers through me and Reynald Prévost,” says Christophe Aubert, of the CGT.
Blockades and blockages started on Wednesday June 19
Trade union organizations and employees deplore the way in which the negotiations for the employment protection plan (PSE) are taking place: “non-existent social dialogue and very low guarantees of support for the 647 jobs threatened on the site, including more than 250 potentially dismissable with current age measurements. » Organizations are constantly asking for more dates to move forward. The next and probable last meeting of the PES is still scheduled for July 2. Started on Wednesday June 19, the blockades and blockages are still in progress on the site.
As part of the summons, the court is requested to put an end to “blockages or any other action having the consequence of hindering the freedoms” targeted. Reynald Prévost and Christophe Aubert incur a penalty of up to 5,000 euros per violation noted, for a period of three months.
The accusation directly targeted “the roadblocks that prevent even filtered access” to the site, both for employees and for trucks used to supply the refinery. “We are moving towards illicit movement since we are preventing the normal operation of a site that presents security risks, for the installations, the environment, the population and the employees (Seveso high threshold, Editor’s note).” And it is in their capacity as “leaders of the movement” that Reynald Prévost and Christophe Aubert were brought to appear. “The presence of supportive employees is for me the best illustration of this,” jokes the management’s lawyer.
The decision rendered on July 1
For its part, the defense insists: “We cannot put the responsibility of the strikers on one person, everyone is responsible for what they do.” “It is a desire to divide”, “an extremely strong movement”. He continues: “In none of the bailiff’s reports made did we note that a vehicle failed to enter the site or that a non-striking employee was prevented. »
The court’s decision will be made Monday July 1, at 5 p.m.. At the end of the hearing, Christophe Aubert said he was “reassured” by his lawyer’s pleading. Reynald Prévost still fears the verdict. “If the decision is negative, employees will be even more angry than today. »
Note that today’s hearing coincides with the inter-union call for a strike by all employees of the ExxonMobil platform. Employees were therefore invited to gather at 1:30 p.m.
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