- Title: FRANCE: PARIS MARKS & SPENCER EMPLOYEES PROTEST AGAINST CLOSURES.
- Date: 6th April 2001
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (APRIL 6, 2001) (REUTERS ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS: HUNDREDS OF EMPLOYEES HOLDING BANNERS OUTSIDE MARKS & SPENCER STORE ON HAUSSMAN BOULEVARD (5 SHOTS) 0.33 2. CU: (SOUNDBITE) (French) EMPLOYEE ISABELLE MONIER SAYING: "The staff is outraged, what they've done to us is unacceptable. We are here today to express our indignation, and to say we will fight it to the end. We have been courageous for a week now, and we will continue to fight. It is out of the question that we will accept to be treated like discarded Kleenex." 0.57 3. MV/CU: SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE CGT BERNARD THIBAUT WITH MARKS & SPENCER EMPLOYEES/ BANNER (2 SHOTS) 1.07 4. CU: (SOUNDBITE) (French) BERNARD THIBAUT, SECRETARY GENERAL OF CGT, SAYING: "There's been a tremendous financial and economic mess here, and the only ones who escaped its consequences have been a few stockholders and, if I am to believe the rumours that are going on, the CEO himself, who will be pocketing an amount large enough to be seen as a provocation by those who are at risk of losing their jobs." 1.31 5. GV/MV: VARIOUS OF EMPLOYEES DEMONSTRATING/ EMPLOYEES BLOCKING BOULEVARD/ VARIOUS OF POSTERS (7 SHOTS) 2.19 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 21st April 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Reuters ID: LVA9ZRUJRJ7OX3IZYMPE5ADCX2JP
- Story Text: Angry French employees of Marks & Spencer have
protested in central Paris against the announcement that the
British chain has decided to close several stores throughout
continental Europe.
Several hundred disgruntled Marks & Spencer employees
from across France demonstrated outside the firm's flagship
store in central Paris on Friday (6 April) to protest last
week's surprise decision by the venerable British retailer
to close money-losing businesses.
The employees carried banners and chanted outside the
Boulevard Haussman store, blocking traffic in the heart of
Paris department store district.
"The staff is outraged, what they've done to us is
unacceptable," said employee Isabelle Monier. "We are here
today to express our indignation, and to say we will fight it
to the end.
We have been courageous for a week now, and we will continue
to fight. It is out of the question that we will accept to be
treated like discarded Kleenex."
Marks & Spencer's decision affects 18 stores in France
and just over 1,800 local employees. The closure plan, which
will not take effect for several months, was received with
rage and indignation by the employees, most of whom learned
about their redundancy through news reports or just minutes
before a public announcement made on March 29.
The surprise announcement of the closure coincided with
big job cuts at the French group Danone and has shocked a
country used to rigid labour laws. Two of France's leading
trade unions have already taken the British retailer to court
to try to force a reversal of the decision.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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