Roanne. Pralus fined on May 1st: labor inspectors supported by the national CFDT

On May 1st, the Pralus bakery in the Diderot market halls in Roanne was found guilty of an offense because two employees of the famous chocolatier and pastry chef were working on the public holiday. Since the inspection, François Pralus has denounced " the cowboy methods of labor inspectors ." "My employees were very impressed and stressed. They are young women under 25 who saw three men approaching them," he reiterated.

"A labor inspector is free to act within his or her scope of practice and is free to follow up on the inspections he or she carries out. When he or she presents his or her professional card, he or she must have access to all of the premises. Between 70 and 80 inspections have been conducted in the Roanne region, including other companies found to be in violation; this is the only incident reported to us," recalls Mamadou Sow, general delegate of SYNTEF-CFDT (the national union for labor, employment, and training).

Along with his deputy general delegate, labor inspector Mathieu Marcinkiewicz, the union representative went to Roanne on Wednesday, May 7, "to support the inspectors who have been subjected to public condemnation when they were simply doing their job." For Mamadou Sow, it is "unacceptable for a boss who has committed an offense to give his version of events, especially when it is false, and when civil servants are required to maintain confidentiality."

According to him, "very harsh language was used" against those who inspected the Roanne pastry shop. "They are in a state of shock," the union representative continues. François Pralus also acknowledges that "on the cameras, we see that there were altercations with customers. I wasn't there at the time, I don't know what was said," he says. Upon his arrival, the labor inspectors were nevertheless "aggressive," he assures.

More than the attitude of the Roanne pastry chef, what Mamadou Sow criticizes are the political reactions that followed this inspection. "The mayor of Roanne is supposed to enforce public order; he could and should have enforced this holiday, but he decided to cast aspersions on the officials responsible rather than enforce the law."

"This gentleman is a union member, he is doing his job when he supports the inspectors," says Yves Nicolin, who nevertheless persists in asserting that the civil servants behaved inappropriately and that the Labor Code also does not reflect the realities: "Why do fast food restaurants have the right to open, like bakeries, but not pastry shops (in reality, bakeries can only open on May ^1st if employees are not working there that day, Editor's note)? How is buying bread more essential than buying chocolate?" asks the mayor of Roanne.

"The attitude of the parliamentarian who places a target on the backs of labor inspectors is unacceptable. The fact that a person who passes laws supports this violence is worrying. Everyone is subject to the law," continued the secretary general of SYNTEF-CFDT, without naming MP Antoine Vermorel-Marquès.

"Labor inspectors have a great deal of freedom. Those in Roanne have chosen to inspect food businesses, including the Pralus bakery and pastry shop. Others have chosen to focus their inspections on preventing discrimination and harassment. However, one might wonder why 22 bakeries have been inspected in France while we are in the middle of a debate on relaxing the law on May ^1st closures," retorts the Roanne MP, who reaffirms "his freedom of speech."

And he concedes, however: "If it turns out that the labor inspectors were indeed mistreated, they obviously have my full support," assures Antoine Vermorel-Marquès.