The announcement of the closure of the Solvay factory in Salindres, in Gard, caused a deep shock within the town. The factory has been an integral part of the local landscape for over a century. Its announced disappearance endangers the economic future of the village. Attached to their factory, the workers mobilize to defend their jobs.
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In Salindres, the announcement of the closure of the Solvay factory shocked the population. For more than a century, this factory has been an integral part of the landscape and the lives of the inhabitants. “ At the time, Dad worked there, so it’s not something recent since it would be over 100 years old. Well, there, it’s a despair all the same for the Salindrois and especially for the people who will no longer have work », confides a resident, expressing the shock felt by many.
In this Gard village, everyone is directly or indirectly affected. The closure of the factory, which employs 68 people, has repercussions that go well beyond just the employees. “It’s important for village life, for the school, for the shops, for the traders,” laments another resident.
At the “Factory Café”, where Solvay workers and subcontractors meet every day, the atmosphere is somber. The manager, who has been in place for a year and a half, is worried about the future of her business. “We’ve only been here a year and a half. Catering is not just for the factory because we also have craftsmen, but it’s still scary,” she explains.
The same fear is shared in the village’s businesses. At the bakery, one of three in Salindres, the baker wonders what the future holds for them: “ We don’t know what this will entail because, despite everything, Solvay was a company with 68 employees, but which also took on freelancers on the side. So people who come to eat lunch, get sandwiches, salads, quiches. »
For the DVG mayor of Salindres, Étienne Malachanne, this closure is a real blow. “ It is a municipality which is rather experiencing demographic growth, with a certain economic development. So today, it’s sure that it’s really very bad news, unexpected », he declares, aware of the impact that this closure will have on local dynamics.
The workers are firmly attached to their factory and their village. A CGT trade unionist testifies to their dismay: “ They commonly call it their factory for old and even new hires. They built their factory here, they had houses built, they have children, they have their wife who works here and from one day to the next, we have to tell them to go work elsewhere, it’s not understandable. » In response, the employees decided to go on strike until October 4, the date of the first negotiations.
The closure of the Salindres factory takes place in a context of tension around environmental issues. At the start of the year, a report from the Générations Futures association pointed to “exceptionally high” concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the waters near the site. But for local authorities, this closure is above all a social tragedy.
The president of the Occitanie region, Carole Delga, expressed her support for the employees. “ The brutal decision taken by the management of the Solvay group to stop chemical production at the Salindres site is a real blow for the territory and its inhabitants » she underlined in a press release, while bringing her “ total support for the 68 employees concerned “. She also called for “ do everything possible to support them and enable them to keep or quickly find a job “.
On the union side, anger is brewing. Bruno Rivier, departmental secretary of the CGT, denounced a “ economic nonsense » : « We’re not going to let it happen “, he said at the microphone of France 3 Occitanie.
Solvay, for its part, justifies this decision for economic reasons. The chemical group explains that the diversification efforts and investments made on the site were not enough to compensate for the drop in activity. The closure of the production of TFA (trifluoroacetic acid) and fluorinated derivatives in Salindres therefore appears, according to management, inevitable.
For the residents of Salindres, this announcement marks the end of an era.
Written with Pauline Pidoux and AFP.
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