" Why? Friday morning, misunderstanding dominates in front of the Renault factory in Choisy-le-Roi which will close, as confirmed by the management of the French automotive group on Friday. This was suggested the day before the evening of first announcements with the loss of about 15,000 jobs worldwide, including 4,600 in France.
It is 7 am and in front of the ivy-covered buildings on the avenue de Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, all the employees are already outside. All the trade unions too. "We have never seen so many people," said one of them. There are even some here who are usually never on the stakes! This shows how much the announcement of the end of "Renault Choisy" is like a bomb.
Its activity would therefore be transferred to Flins (Yvelines) where 2,600 people work and where the group's project includes stopping automobile production and retraining on the Choisy model which employs 260 people in a parts recycling activity, to which s '' add up to 150 temporary workers.
“What we are doing here, it is only us who are capable of it, testifies this employee who has worked there for two years. There have even been hires recently ”. "We have a project in progress and which is about to end," says another who works in engineering. We don't know what mobility solutions we will be offered ”. For this 59-year-old employee, there is no question of leaving for Flins. “We don't know under what conditions we will work there. Everyone here knows each other. There is a good ambiance. Some have been there for 30, 40 years ”.
"It's dramatic. This factory is a model ”
This factory, which all describe as "family" and which has just celebrated its 70th anniversary, is the only one to be specialized in "standard exchange", the refurbishment of parts for the after-sales management of Renault, Nissan Europe, and Daimler, then sold at lower cost. Its know-how is "unique in Europe". "We have lots of tools that are unique to us here," explains Brahim Hachouche, FO deputy central delegate at Renault and employee at Choisy. They are in the walls, in the ground. It would cost Renault more to move everything. And it won't save Flins! "
Behind him, Hélène Luc takes photos. The tireless communist activist and former senator of Val-de-Marne for thirty years has known "three, four alerts" for the factory. But "one like that, never". "It's dramatic," she explains. This factory is a model. Especially since now many people in difficulty will change their engine rather than buying a new car. ”
"We will only close one site by 2022, that is Choisy"
Many elected officials were on site Friday morning. PCF senator Pascal Savoldelli, head of PCF 94 Fabien Guillaud Bataille, LREM MP Jean-François Mbaye, MoDem MP Maud Petit, MP DVD Tonino Panetta… "The employees are in shock", explains mayor PCF Didier Guillaume surrounded by several members of his majority. “They learned the news from the press, after the end of the deconfinement. They expect concrete things ”.
Val-de-Marne Newsletter
Every morning, the news of your department seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
And concretely, this Friday mid-morning, the president of the group Jean-Dominque Senard explained that only the Choisy-le-Roi site would close. "Contrary to what has been written here and there, we will only close one site by 2022, out of our 14 industrial sites in France, this is Choisy for which we will promote skills in the Paris region", said the president of the automaker, Jean-Dominique Senard, at a press conference.