French Workers Kidnap Bosses To Protest Layoffs
In France, some workers have been kidnapping their bosses. Since last month, managers have been held hostage at factories for up to 24 hours by workers who are angry over plans for layoffs.
ARI SHAPIRO, Host:
Bosses all over world are laying off workers in this economic crisis. That can be a risky business in France, where furious workers have responded to layoffs by taking their employers hostage. Eleanor Beardsley sends this report.
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY: In just under a month, there have been four "boss-nappings" in France.
(SOUNDBITE OF COMMOTION)
BEARDSLEY: But there are now more than 2 million unemployed in France, and there is a growing sentiment here that the business elite caused the crisis but it is the workers who are paying. That's not so, says Marie Conard(ph), the wife of a recently kidnapped boss. She called into a radio station to express her outrage.
M: (French spoken)
BEARDSLEY: These are not criminal bosses but hardworking husbands and fathers who had nothing to do with this crisis, says Conard. It's psychological harassment.
BEARDSLEY: For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley, in Paris.
Copyright © 2009 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.