Workers at 3M Plant in France Take Boss Hostage

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123800474011840363.html


Workers at a French factory of U.S. industrial conglomerate 3M Co. were holding their boss captive on Wednesday to protest planned layoffs, in the latest sign of growing public anger at rising unemployment in France.

The stand-off, which isn't violent, started on Tuesday when workers refused to allow plant director Luc Rousselet leave his office unless 3M sweetened severance packages being negotiated for the fired workers. Negotiations between the two sides are supposed to re-start late on Wednesday to try to find a solution.

3M didn't return calls for comment.

Two weeks ago, workers held the chief of a factory owned by Sony France captive for a night. The employees barricaded several executives inside the factory, which is slated to be closed, as a tactic to try to get better terms for those being laid off.

The hostage incidents are among the many signs of growing social unrest in France the deepening economic crisis. Street protests and strikes are quite common here and have often brought down governments. President Nicolas Sarkozy faces a particularly difficult challenge, however, because he was elected on a pledge to give French people more jobs and make them richer – plans that are being soured by the financial crisis.
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wow

It was something like "In America, the people are afraid of the government. In France, the government are afraid of the people."