"It's not up to the employees to pay for the mineral water scandal," Perrier glassmakers are revived by hopes of a buyer

Since April and the announcement of the closure of the Owens-Illinois glassworks , which mainly bottles Nestlé Waters, including the neighboring Perrier, banners have appeared at the entrance to the Vergèze site (Gard). "Here, 164 unemployed" ; "Here rest 164 families" . 164 direct jobs and 400 indirect jobs are threatened by the decision of the factory owner and the world's leading packaging manufacturer.

In the blazing heat on Thursday, July 3, 3,000 people demonstrated their support for glass workers in their search for a buyer. Among them were many local elected officials, such as the Communist candidate for mayor of Nîmes, Vincent Bouget (PCF), and MPs Raphaël Arnault (LFI) and François Ruffin (Debout!). Also among them was the general secretary of the CGT (French General Confederation of Labour), Sophie Binet, whose speech caused a stir.

A potential buyer, a nationally prominent industrialist, is reportedly in the running to give the company a future. His identity has not been disclosed, but the CGT leader assures us: "It's a serious possibility, with a buyer who knows the site well. But the American company must sell rather than lay off workers. And Nestlé must guarantee future volumes. It's not up to the employees to pay for the mineral water scandal." One thing is certain: "The CGT will not let this factory close," Sophie Binet reaffirms.

The fate of the Owens-Illinois glassworks is linked to that of Nestlé Waters, owner of Perrier, whose past use of disinfection treatments for its water has caused a scandal since the practice was exposed by Radio France's investigative unit. While not dangerous for consumption, these processes are nevertheless prohibited for natural mineral waters.

In early May, the Gard prefecture formally ordered the Swiss food giant to remove its current, also controversial, microfiltration system by August 7, or risk losing its natural mineral water label, something Nestlé has promised to do. The Gard prefect's decision, expected by August 8, could actually be known as early as next week.

Meanwhile, the factory's unions will be received at the Gard prefecture on July 10. "Perrier has been our main customer for over thirty-five years, they buy 90% of our production, so our fate is totally linked to this decision," recalls one of the mobilized workers. "We have been summoned to an inter-union meeting on the 10th at 6 p.m. Let's hope that Nestlé has complied and will retain the natural mineral water designation," sighs Yoann Goupille, secretary of the CGT union at the Verrerie du Languedoc.

For the time being, the social plan is being negotiated and the layoffs , if the Gard factory is not taken over, should take place at the beginning of January. "We are abandoned and companies are closing here one after the other," laments Zouber Amara, a Force Ouvrière union representative and team leader who has worked in Vergèze for over twenty-five years.

The battle to find a buyer is therefore fundamental. "We're going to force them to sell. Vergèze will survive," says Sophie Binet. To support this approach, all the glassworks in Languedoc were on strike this Thursday, July 3. Many of their employees converged on Vergèze from the thirteen departments of Occitanie and even further afield: Paris or the Vosges. "We had a furnace closure in Albi. The glass industry is relocating, while we import between 30 and 40% of the bottles. Why close sites?" asks Alain Jeanjean, CGT union secretary at the VOA glassworks in Albi.

In the industry, chain restructuring has caused 556 job losses nationwide . "They are also rolling back social gains obtained thirty years ago. We are calling on the government to act. Over the past five years in France, Owens-Illinois has received €15 million in state aid," says Stéphane Leroy, a union representative at Owens-Illinois.

Criticizing Perrier and the government, François Ruffin points out that the industry's share now represents less than 10% of GDP. "It depends solely on political choices. The government has immense power. Either it decides to capitulate to the multinationals, or it decides to stand up to them."