French labor union riots over closure of Goodyear factory [photos]

[Alan C.]

French workers accused of 'being lazy' by U.S. tycoon riot on streets as last ditch protest to save 1,200 jobs descends into violence

Workers at a French tyre-making factory clashed with riot police today as last-ditch protests aimed at saving their jobs turned violent.

Staff from the Goodyear factory in northern France gathered outside the company's offices near Paris as they continued to rally against attempts to restructure or close the Amiens plant which employs 1,200 people.

But as union representatives met with company management inside, protestors fought with police on the streets outside, setting fire to piles of tyres.

The trouble flared as it was announced that unemployment figures in France had reached their highest for more than 13 years in the last quarter of 2012.

It also comes after American tycoon Maurice Taylor - chairman of U.S. tyre giant Titan International -  refused to rescue the Goodyear tyre factory because its workers are 'lazy, overpaid and talk too much'.

In the letter released on Feburary 19, Mr Taylor said his company would not be buying a Goodyear tyre plant in Amiens that is threatened with closure and the loss of 1,170 jobs, telling French industry ministry Arnaud Montebourg: 'I have visited the factory several times.

'The French workforce gets paid high wages but works only three hours.

'They get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three hours and work for three. I told the French union workers this to their faces. They told me that's the French way!'

The letter sent by Mr Taylor sparked a row with the government, with Mr Montebourg branding the description ‘ridiculous’, saying that he would instruct government agencies – including the tax office – to examine Mr Taylor’s business with ‘redoubled zeal’.

Goodyear said on January 31 that it would be closing its main French plant and cutting its workforce in France by 39 percent amid labor disputes and plunging car demand in Europe.

. . .

The French Government is proposing to reform the labor regulation that has held up the factory's closure after five years of attempts by the company to restructure the plant.

[Livemike]

 So if you say something bad about French workers the government takes a closer look at your taxes and other reasons to arrest you.   Lovely.  So much administering the law without fear or favor.