Rennes (AFP)

The Breton factory of Plaintel, long the only production site for respiratory masks in France, closed in general indifference at the end of 2018, less than two years before the Covid-19 pandemic, against a backdrop of low orders and demands high profitability.

"It stirs my guts," cowardly with bitterness Pierre (first name changed), a former employee of the factory, in "anger to see caregivers die because they lack masks".

The former Spérian factory in Plaintel (Côtes d'Armor) produced a few years ago more than 8 million masks per year and its production capacity even exceeded 200 million masks in 2010.

"It was in Plaintel that the first foldable FFP2 masks were made," boasts Jean-Jacques Fuan, site director from 1991 to 2003.

The site is also the only producer of masks in France in 2005, when the State ordered 200 million masks in three years to build up stocks in anticipation of a pandemic. The memorandum of understanding, signed by the Minister of Health Xavier Bertrand, then underlines that it is excluded from "depending exclusively on imports which would be interrupted in the context of a pandemic", according to a document published by the investigation cell of Radio France.

Because "in times of crisis, global demand would be multiplied at least by ten and (...) problems would arise", warned in November 2005 Roland Fangeat, former vice-president of the respiratory division of Spérian Europe, during '' a hearing at the National Assembly.

The factory, which then had close to 300 employees, produced seven days a week and 24 hours a day to meet demand. In 2010, it was bought by the American group Honeywell. Then the State interrupts its orders, contrary to the commitments made in article 11 of the protocol.

"It's a collective bankruptcy," says Fangeat. "As of 2011, there were no more orders and the factory's slow agony began."

Social plans and partial unemployment are linked and the workforce melts until reaching 38 employees in 2018. "Eight years of trouble", summarizes Pierre, the former employee.

- "A beautiful working tool" -

In the summer of 2018, Honeywell closed the factory for "economic reasons" and some of the machines were relocated to Nabeul, in Tunisia. The rest are sent to the scrap dealer to be destroyed.

"The factory itself had a perfectly acceptable profitability, but was below the group's requirements because Honeywell had created an economic model that did not allow it to be profitable," says Laurent Beziz, lawyer at LBBA , which defends several former employees.

In a May 2018 report, the accounting firm Syndex indeed mentioned "proven economic profitability, but too low for group standards" Honeywell, which more than quadrupled its net profit in 2018, to 6.76 billion of dollars.

"The site has not received sufficient orders to restore its profitability and has accumulated significant financial losses," defended the group to AFP, ensuring "that there was no another viable option than closing our facilities. "

The employees, them, meet the prefect, write to the President of the Republic, without success. "Thirty-eight employees in a rural area, that did not interest the public authorities, nor the media", deplores Christophe Rondel, secretary general of the CFDT of Côtes d'Armor.

"It's sad, because we had a great working tool," regrets Michèle Le Couturier, former CFDT delegate for the factory. "We could have done beautiful things, we would have been proud to be able to help the population and save lives."

Today, a small group of former employees, led by Jean-Jacques Fuan and advised by the former Secretary of State (EELV) Guy Hascoët, is trying to revive production, in the form of a cooperative society of collective interest ( SCIC). "Given the dramatic situation in the country, we must reclaim the means of production," says Serge Le Quéau, of the Solidaires union.

The Brittany region has promised its support, but "the State must make long-term commitments in terms of public procurement", warns Martin Meyrier, vice-president of the Regional Council for the Economy.

The fact remains that there is no longer any machine or industrial site (it was bought by a local company). "And only eight former employees are still on the job market," said Rondel.

"It would be a miracle to start in nine months," said Fuan.

© 2020 AFP