Between Maubeuge and Douai, Aulnoye-Aymeries and Roubaix, the giant carcasses of abandoned factories obstruct the horizon of thousands of employees in need of opportunities or competitiveness. In this region built on coal, glass, textiles and the automobile, where unemployment has reached more than 16% of the working population for years, the difficulties increased by the health crisis do not lead to optimism.
The Parisian went to meet elected officials and employees of Vallourec, Renault or Camaïeu, faced with this unprecedented economic and social storm. And politically uncertain. If the left retains some bastions, if the "neither right nor left" of Emmanuel Macron's beginnings has aroused a listening, the disillusions leave more and more room for the National Rally or, to what "makes its bed", a record abstention.
However, in the North Department, where the roads of Europe cross, no withdrawal or detestation of political staff. The round table which was held Tuesday in Bercy and which preserves employment at Renaul t until after 2023, was a financial oxygen balloon but also a political shock absorber of weight. "Since the launch, in November 2018, by the Head of State of a territorial pact , the prefect and all elected officials, we have invested, created jobs ... This explains, in part, why the push of RN to Europeans has not been reproduced in municipal elections, analyzes Xavier Bertrand, president of Hauts-de-France. But today, we have to fight for all these craftsmen, these traders who have no protection. "Macron, keep your word! »Can we read on some leaflets forgotten in the streets of Maubeuge. Like a last hope or a threat ...
In Maubeuge: "Macron did not do like Holland in Florange"
The town came close to cardiac arrest when, last week, Jean-Dominique Senard, the boss of Renault was preparing to transfer part of the assembly of the Kangoo, from Maubeuge to Douai. Faced with the show of force of the unions and local elected officials - a demonstration of 8,000 people, last Saturday - and pressure from the State, still a shareholder of the car manufacturer, the management backed down. “We will see if the commitments are met, says Laurent, CGT delegate at MCA Renault. The inter-union, local elected officials, the prefect were all up to the task. We saved the Kangoo in the short term and we know that a new model, the XFK vehicle, is intended to replace them. But we remain expectant. "
At 62, Jean-Marie installs automated production lines. "The ball," he said, "has not gone far. But overall, I don't trust the government. We have seen how much he lied about the masks. I vote LR and I will continue to do so. They are more competent. "
Sylvie works in logistics and her husband in maintenance on the Maubeuge site. “Management wanted to sacrifice us when we are one of the most competitive factories in the group. But unions, local elected officials, employees have mobilized. Macron did not do like Hollande, who abandoned Florange (Editor's note: Arcelor Mittal steel factory closed during the previous five-year period). So, I trust him, even if I paraded with the yellow vests and against pensions. "
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Rico, a production agent, no longer has any illusions. "We have a guarantee until 2023, but after? I am at the bottom of the ladder and I will stay there. I hold it against the management of Renault, but it is the politicians who will decide. I will never vote for extremes, however I will abstain. "
In Aulnoye: "People find themselves in parties that have their hands dirty"
Far from the TGV Paris-Lille and the A1 motorway, Vallourec no longer has its past splendor. But the group specializing in high-end tubes for the petroleum industry is still standing. Wednesday at 11 am is the departure of one of the two teams in 8/8. Jérôme, touch-up artist in painting, displays a rather serene face. "I suffered three weeks of partial unemployment but I was well compensated, recognizes this forties. It's complicated to live on just over 1,500 euros per month. But I will not vote for those who make crazy promises like Le Pen who believes that we can live without Europe or Mélenchon who just moans. "
Nearby, NOV, a Vallourec subcontractor, is waiting for a buyer. If he admits to being worried, Yohann Delbauve resists despair. "We feel supported by the prefect, all political leaders, Bernard Baudoux, the communist mayor, Anne-Laure Cattelot, the deputy LREM or Xavier Bertrand, the president of Hauts de France and the ministers explains the CGT delegate. I have always voted a Communist. But not everything is to be thrown away at Emmanuel Macron's. Since the health crisis, he has put a lot of money to revive the economy. The problem is that it has no real French or European industrial project. "
In his Art Deco town hall, Bernard Baudoux also says he is relieved. "People here find themselves in parties that have their hands dirty and do not just oppose," says the communist councilor, who goes on his fifth term with 70% of the votes against a rebellious list.
In November 2018, Emmanuel Macron, the first president since General De Gaulle to travel to the region, launched the Territorial Pact, with the key - under pressure from Xavier Bertrand - the doubling of RN2, “transitional jobs” … Since then, the prefect and the elected representatives of all the parties have worked hand in hand and unemployment has dropped by three points. Before going back with the health crisis. “We have to fight against social implosion and against RN. But, I know that our biggest challenge is abstention which will make the bed of the RN, ”sighs the mayor.
In Douai: "In 2022, I don't know if I will vote"
Some 75 kilometers from Maubeuge, Douai, the former coal capital where unemployment is close to 12% of the working population, remains a socialist stronghold. The future of the Renault factory, less competitive than that of Maubeuge, remains in abeyance. "We don't know what tomorrow will be like," sighs Florent, a 57-year-old maintenance technician, including around 30 from the car manufacturer. I do not see how we can escape reductions in staff. I do not trust either management or politicians. In 2017, I preferred Fillon and, in the second round, I voted blank. In the Europeans, I voted RN because there was no stake. In 2022, I don't know if I will vote. "
Georges (the first name has been changed) , engineer, has been on missions at Renault for five years. At 28, he never experienced unemployment. And despite the group's difficulties and the ecological standards imposed by the public authorities, he remains optimistic. “The executive reacted well. He was able to support employees when the opposition criticized too easily. Especially the left, which has rarely helped those who create jobs. And then, we must not be mistaken when we talk about inequalities. The people here are well off. They work in a large company which offers them many advantages, the unions are strong and they benefit from numerous public aids. We have seen this again with the 5 billion loans guaranteed by the state. "
Industrial weakened, Douai remains an administrative center, with its sub-prefecture and its law faculty and hundreds of public jobs at the end. On the Place d'Armes, the Douaisiens take advantage of the first hours of deconfinement. "I have job security, but I find it difficult to finance the higher education of my two children," exclaims Nathalie. This 47-year-old school teacher, divorced, sees the only way out as a change of Republic. "I vote France Insoumise because I do not imagine the fate of the poorest to improve other than by a fundamental upheaval. Those who want to change things here rather vote Le Pen because it has not yet governed and that it advocates order and security. "
In Roubaix: "The government lends billions to Renault and to us, not a euro"
HLM, wasteland, factory outlets, buildings renovated in a vintage way in bricks and steel but also the ultra-modern building of OVH, one of the first Internet hosts in Europe… A stone's throw from the bourgeois capital of Lille, Roubaix - 30% unemployment - is in the process of moulting. An in-between in which the 3,000 employees (5,600 worldwide) are immersed in Camaïeu, a ready-to-wear brand in receivership. The shareholder, a heavily indebted investment fund, had to throw in the towel.
Last Thursday, potential buyers appeared before the Social and Economic Committee (or CSE, the former Works Council). In front of the headquarters, a few employees burn a cigarette. “We know there will be a buyer, but how many employees will he keep? What will be the conditions of dismissal? Worries Jean-Philippe, 34, a logistics worker.
“We've been in trouble for years. Politicians come to see us but that doesn't prevent bankruptcy, exclaims Cindy, 36. To Renault, the government lends billions and not a euro to us. The banks refuse us everything. We are not supported on the pretext that we already had problems before the virus. We walk on the head. I will not travel to vote. "
The misunderstanding is total on the union side. "We do not receive any aid from the State when we were forced to close our stores for three months! It is only the mayor who defends us in Bercy, ”exclaims Cherif, CGT delegate.
Guillaume Delbar, ex-juppeist, in charge of the city since 2014, has the talent to put all the actors around a table thanks to his good relations with many ministers, including Gérald Darmanin, mayor of the nearby Tourcoing. For six years, he has relaunched the emblematic La Redoute and created a digital cluster, a university campus and made Roubaix a cultural capital with the extension of the Pool Museum. "The left, since its breakup under François Hollande has reached the end of the cycle in the region," says Guillaume Delbar. Roubaix but also the department and the region have moved to the right. Economic development, I took it in hand but without unrealistic promise because that is what creates distrust. The good management of the health crisis here re-accredits the policy. We were able to show that the state and local elected officials could work together. It was also a laboratory for the relocation of industries. Now do not disappoint. "
