REPORTAGE
A few thousand people gathered on Saturday morning outside the MCA Renault factory in Maubeuge, in the North, stopped since Friday, to demonstrate against the automaker's decision to cut 15,000 jobs worldwide, including 4,600 in France. Reportage in the procession, in the middle of the demonstrators who demand the preservation of their factory.
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"MCA will live and we are there for that," chant the protesters. At the head of the procession are hidden unions and elected officials. Their banner in their hands "Macron keeps your word" directly targets the head of state and the boss of Renault.
A call to Emmanuel Macron
"Mr. President of the Republic, you came here less than two years ago," points out Arnaud Decagny, mayor of Maubeuge. "You looked the employees in the eye. You told them they were competent. It was the best company of the Renault group in Europe. We need you. You must support us today in this fight", asks the city councilor.
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A whole population base, of approximately 100,000 inhabitants is concerned. The factory, meanwhile, has 2,100 employees and temporary workers. "I have built my life with MCA: my children, my house, my well-being, my balance," says Raba, who has worked there for twenty years. "I am not for closure and not for relocation."
"The closure of all small boxes and structures"
The employee is also concerned about the consequences of a closure on the economic situation in the region. "What is it going to generate after all this? It is the closure of all the small boxes and structures that exist around and that, we do not want it," he denounces.
The mobilization continued again on Saturday noon in front of the Town Hall, with speeches by elected officials and unions.