Shock in the working world of Cotentin.
We learned this Tuesday, January 30, of the death of Franco-Lebanese businessman, Iskandar Safa, at the age of 68, following a long illness.
In 1992, he bought Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN).
The shipyard, specializing in the construction of boats, particularly military boats, was in distress.
And it was then that Iskandar Safa transformed his prestigious address book into an order book to save the company and part of local economic life.
Thirty years later, he was still the owner while his empire had become one of the most prosperous in the country, ranking 82nd among the greatest fortunes in France.
“He fed the guys when the company no longer earned a euro”
“He leaves a huge void.
He was a great humanist who put the human person above everything,” explained, overwhelmed, the former site director, Pierre Balmer.
Many employees do not hide their emotion.
“He fed the guys when the company no longer made a euro.
He never gave up on us,” assures Mathieu Courtois, employed as a rectifier.
Bruno Launay, CGT representative, goes even further: “I was seriously ill and he knew it.
One day, he told me:
I'll take care of it
, and with the greatest discretion, he found me appointments with the greatest Parisian specialists.
And he took all the costs on himself.
I will never forget what my family and I owe him,” he explains, with tears in his eyes.
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There remains the question of the future of the site.
“He organized himself so that his family would support his group and there is no reason to worry except that we will miss this colossal force,” concludes Pierre Balmer.