On the tarmac at Marseille Provence airport, the scene did not go unnoticed. At the end of December, ten gendarmes from the Central Office for Combating Illegal Work (OCLTI) and the Air Transport Gendarmerie (GTA) set off towards a Boeing 737-300 registered G-SMCB of the company West Atlantic , specialized in freight. When they leave the plane, the investigators leave a seal on the door surrounded by two imposing pieces of red ribbon crossed out with the words "Gendarmerie nationale". Access to 737 is prohibited.
Targeted by a preliminary investigation opened in October 2018 by the Aix-en-Provence prosecutor's office (Bouches-du-Rhône) and suspected of "aggravated hidden work", the company registered in England had to do without its plane, immobilized on the tarmac of Marignane for almost three weeks. "A plane stopped is a financial abyss, it must have cost them a fortune," says a good expert in the field. West Atlantic can once again fly its aircraft, but the Boeing officially remains in justice since December 18.
Europe's largest freight company
“The plane is seized without dispossession, specifies the parquet of Aix-en-Provence. He can fly for the company, but is prohibited from leaving French territory. The value of this plane, estimated at around 5 million euros, corresponds, according to the survey, to social security contributions which have not been paid by West Atlantic and to the amount of the fine which could be imposed in fine at the company in case of conviction.
Begun a year and a half ago following a denunciation, the investigations relate to the exact nature of the contracts of the pilots employed by West Atlantic, the largest European freight company, to which La Poste subcontracts a large part. of its activity since 2016. In France, the company, owned by a Swedish group, thus operates several lines, in particular at the airports of Marseille, Bordeaux and Toulouse. A market won against the historic subcontractor of La Poste thanks to unbeatable prices.
But, according to the gendarmes' investigation, if West Atlantic can afford to be much cheaper than its rivals, it is because it plays with the rules, in particular that concerning posted workers. The European Union thus requires that a company employing employees based in a country pay all the expenses of the State in which it sets up.
Flights between French cities, according to a person close to the survey
However, since its establishment in France, the airline company considers that its pilots are attached to Great Britain. In fact, it does not pay contributions in France: charges which finance unemployment, pensions or health insurance… “Their pilots are however installed in France and only carry out flights between French cities, ensures a close to investigation. It is difficult to imagine that they are therefore not employees normally attached to French territory. Their employer should therefore pay their contributions in France. The company should even, given the share of its activity in France, be registered in France. According to the Aix-en-Provence prosecutor's office, during the investigation, several hundred flights were allegedly carried out by pilots who do not contribute to France.
During December, several leaders of the company were therefore placed in police custody by the investigators of the OCLTI and the GTA. Other members of society were heard freely. According to our information, the leaders of the British company have denied any violation and claimed to have complied with all European rules. It was not really the opinion of the Aix prosecutor's office that seized the company's Boeing - a procedure unique in France - for the time of the pursuit of the investigations, which could last “until the summer. "Contacted several times, the company West Atlantic did not respond to our calls.
