Since Friday, the plant Fralib is occupied by its employees. A situation that is denounced by the president of Unilever France, Bruno Witvoët. "This is unacceptable in a constitutional state, says in an interview in Paris-Today-in-France. Such a coup with hooded individuals armed with baseball bats and batons, it is not of union action, it's a commando! ". The boss of Unilever France claiming the expulsion "immediate and prompt action with law enforcement" employees, has also filed a complaint for "physical threats" from the police. "From fabrications," Olivier replied Leberquier, CGT union. According to the police of Aubagne, intervened at the scene, there would have been no collision.

"Holland must keep its promises"

"Closing a plant is always a very difficult decision, Bruno recognizes Witvoët. But in some cases – including tea bags – we have overcapacity. This is justified in stopping this site ". He said Unilever has taken responsibility in the case of employees of Fralib, accepting "to add additional resources for the revitalization of the local employment" as required by justice. "Funds for creating new jobs has increased from 1 to 1.5 million euros" and "each dismissed employee is entitled to an internal transfer, pay the same conditions, in one of six other plants in France , "he said.

This new twist, the 592nd day of the conflict comes as 80 of the 103 employees still struggle, of 182 initially received their letter of dismissal. At the same time, a moving company came to do a quote on the site, and management proposed the CGT to move out of its local business, or in organizing the escorted access, for reasons of safety concerns, dismantling machinery. A scenario rejected by the union, which wants to keep the tool working on site to implement an alternative plan of recovery of activity.

Given this situation, unions are demanding the intervention of Francois Hollande. During the presidential campaign, President-elect said: "Nothing is done, nothing is guaranteed and if victory comes, I will also be at your side, President of the French Republic, to get your site live, had he launched at a meeting of employees Fralib in Paris in February. "The company is now under the control of the CGT and the Netherlands should keep its promises. His election is a ray of hope, "says Olivier Leberquier. The standoff between employees Fralib and its direction is far from over.

The UK is preparing to be the center of the world during the Olympic Games in London this summer. But within three months of maturity, the British border crossing is now turning to chaos. Heathrow Airport is at the heart of controversy because of long queues to pass checkpoints immigration. A study by the British Airport Authority said Thursday record three hours of waiting found last Monday in terminal 4. Control agents were sent into a disaster of Manchester in an attempt to streamline the situation.

Tails more than two hours were common in April, while the objectives of the immigration agency, United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA), were exceeded for a quarter of passengers 23 days on the 30th of last month. The agency has set an average time of 25 minutes for European citizens and 45 minutes for non-Europeans.

The UKBA had previously sought to minimize the problem. The Immigration Minister, Damian Green, was summoned to explain to the House of Commons, went to Heathrow Monday during a quiet time and was considered "exaggerated" reports on delays. He attributed the delays to bad weather. The boss of British Airways, Willie Walsh has accused the government of "deceiving public opinion" and be "unable to cope with a major problem."

David Cameron himself has described the aftermath as "unacceptable" these delays and asked the competent authorities to act. The outgoing mayor of London, Boris Johnson, wrote to the Interior Minister, Theresa May, in indignant at "the disastrous impression in the UK" and asked him to "rectify the situation for both the Olympics and to manage the normal flow of passengers. "

Downsizing

Largest airport in Europe (and the third world), Heathrow, with 69 million passengers a year, bordering on saturation. London expects 3-5000000 more visitors during the Olympics. The engorgement of its border resulting from the conjunction of several factors.

Last fall, the agency Immigration and Theresa May had been questioned after the revelation of controls "relaxed" on arrival, neglecting the systematic verification of passports of visitors to accelerate the pace. A careful examination papers has been reinstated immediately, lengthening the time. Meanwhile, the UK Border Agency is facing a rise in traffic with fewer staff. The severe budget cuts decided by the government resulted in a decrease of 10% of its workforce since 2010, and an additional 15% could be eliminated by 2015. To make matters worse, the agency staff must go on strike next Thursday, as the entire public service, for retirement. The UKBA has announced the hiring of 80 people from this month and announced it planned reinforcements of 480 officers during the Olympics.

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At L'Oréal, the experts of pharmacy have finally managed to wake a sleeping beauty. After stagnating for years, sales of perfumes, soaps and body care Roger & Gallet jumped 19% last year, reaching fifty million.

The brand certainly still tiny compared to Vichy and La Roche Posay, the flagship of the active cosmetics division (DCA) of the world's leading beauty products. But it is a growth driver for the industry, with Inneov, Sanoflore and Skinceuticals.

The "perfume apothecary", created hundred and fifty years ago by Armand Roger and Charles Gallet, whose stepfather had bought the Glover case of Jean-Marie Farina, inventor of cologne, had its hour glory before World War II.

Restarted after its acquisition by Sanofi in 1975, she was abandoned when the pharmaceutical company took over Yves Saint Laurent perfumes, in 1993. "Roger & Gallet was not a priority at YSL Beauté," says Thierry Vidart, its current CEO, who works for the brand since 1995, and saw her go from Sanofi PPR (1999) and L'Oréal .

In early 2008, the king of cosmetics has offered YSL Beauté for 1.15 billion euros to strengthen its luxury division with a French perfume creator. He has since sold most other fragrances of YSL Beauté (Boucheron, Oscar de la Renta and Zegna), and retained the fragrance license Stella McCartney.

Ambitions in Brazil

It remained to determine the fate of Roger & Gallet, finally recovered in January 2010 by the active cosmetics division, which attempts to revive the brand, sold in pharmacies to 85% and 15% in department stores and perfumeries as Marionnaud.

The new management is doubling, with the aim of "creating the category of well-being by the perfume pharmacy," said Brigitte Liberman, patron of the DCA, and "a new offer to attract new customers to energize the circuit, "which progresses more slowly than the cosmetics market in France. Roger & Gallet products launched to rejuvenate its clientele, such as body care Sublime Oil and fragrance of Osmanthus Flower. Result: Sales jumped 22% last year in 5,000 pharmacies in France where the brand is present.

Roger & Gallet, which generates 85% of its sales in France, was also launched last year to conquer Europe's. It is present in 3,500 pharmacies in Germany, Italy, Spain and England.

It also operates 550 outlets in Brazil, second fragrance market in the world after the United States, with the ambition to make the country its third largest market in three years. "Our goal is to double sales within four to five years, reaching 100 million euros," says Brigitte Liberman.

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Electricity bills and fuel have been salted for the month of February. According to INSEE, household consumption has jumped from 3% in February as a result largely of the "sharp increase" of 11.7% in energy costs over the month. Moreover, "the cold snap would boosted purchases of winter clothing," notes INSEE, which noted a 5.7% rebound in apparel purchases, after a fall on the last two months.

This unexpected buoyancy (the market had forecast a rise in consumption of 0.2%) is unlikely to last. For starters, "we expect a drop in energy consumption in March, the weather being much milder than usual," Analysis Dominique Barbet, an economist at BNP Paribas guaranteed personal loan approval. Spending on "durable goods" (household goods, autos) fell slightly in February (-0.7%).

Especially, the prospects are not good. According to the latest survey of consumer sentiment, they do not plan to make major purchases, likely to support consumption, and therefore French growth. Finally, "stagnating incomes suggests that households will not increase their spending significantly," anticipates Alain Carbon, an economist at Natixis.

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SNCF is mobilizing to appease the discontent of its users. It has just six new commitments, collectively called "guaranteed trip", to improve the service provided to them. Applicable on March 31 and the TGV intercity trains, the new device, designed with consumer groups, will have a budget of 50 million euros.

The "guarantee travel" includes minimizing the impact of the delays complained of increasingly frequent travelers. In case of delay of over an hour and whatever the cause, the SNCF is committed to providing its passengers two options: either full and immediate refund of the return ticket, or can borrow another train at the same price within 48 hours. In the event of contingencies, the SNCF to fund those it has not been resolved transport travel by taxi or a hotel room.  

History of punctuality

The railway company will also make an effort in terms of information. To help customers make their transport choices knowingly, the site will release a historic infolignes.com punctuality of trains and intercity TGV last 60 days. The exact cause delays of more than 15 minutes will also be shown the next day on the internet.

In an interview in Le Parisien – Aujourd'hui en France, the CEO of SNCF Voyages, Barbara Dalibard, said that more work will be provided to inform travelers of their late train, by SMS or email. For this, 30,000 field workers will be equipped with smartphones that will allow them to trace information more easily.

A new "guaranteed seat" finally improve the service offered to passengers overbooked. The skipper will help them find a place, and if necessary outperform the first class. If no seat is still available, the station will offer the customer who had to make his journey standing financial compensation "in the form of travel vouchers of 10 €, 20 € or 30 €.

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Groupama, Peugeot, Veolia … Many major brands have recently announced a willingness to reduce or completely cut their investments in sports marketing. Yet this phenomenon remain marginal. This is certainly what seems to believe Sporsora, the association of those involved in sports economics, which will publish March 29 at the second conference of the economy of Sport *, the results of its study on the sponsorship of companies.  

Dubbed "Sport in corporate strategy: vision and perception" and carried on the Internet in February 5000 with a major French advertisers file, it brings together the experiences of sponsoring 150 largest advertisers in the Hexagon.

The confidence shown by the marks in the virtues of sports marketing is clear: a large majority of them (68%), in the sponsoring of a component as "full" of their business strategy, and 80% a specific budget dedicated to the promotion of their fame. Better: in times of crisis, and at the hour of streamlining budgets, 61% of advertisers are predicting an increase or stability of these budgets, and 66% of those who already use these modes of communication they retain their confidence, despite the crisis pay day advance.

Distinction sponsorship and patronage

Two thirds of respondents say also that in times of difficulties, it is important to maintain or strengthen sponsorship and patronage. Indeed, 76% say that these channels are different from other types of expressions. Last important lesson of the study, at a time when the concept of return on investment becomes more important as advertisers well distinguished sponsorship sponsorship. For 60% of respondents, the first concept is clearly seen as a mode of communication, and for 62% of them, patronage is identified as an expression of citizenship.

* Dedicated to "The economics of sport in times of crisis, to new growth models." March 29 from 8:30 to 16:30 at the MEDEF headquarters in Paris.

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An agreement, signed last week between the management of Air France and the main pilots' union of the company, the SNPL, already mitigates the impact of future legislation on guaranteed service in the airline, currently before Parliament.

Transposition of the 2008 Act applicable to the SNCF, the text of UMP Eric Diard plans to compel the workers of the company to declare 48 hours in advance. The goal: to inform travelers of disruptions to come, and ultimately, to minimize the effects through the reallocation of non-striking staff.

This second objective is partly compromising the agreement with pilots. According to Liberation, he states that their schedule "is stable [...] in all circumstances and at all times, without exception." This excludes de facto reallocation constraint non-striking staff in case of conflict. It remains permissible on a voluntary basis.

Appease the social climate

The management of Air France denies having given wrongly. "This new agreement ratifies simply clarification of an agreement dating from 2006, which was the subject of a dispute with the pilots," argues a spokeswoman. The company also advance security reasons for refusing to compel non-striking staff to take service if necessary.

But the agreement signed last week is primarily intended to appease a very tense social climate at Air France. Shocked at the beginning of February still a strike, it lies in the necessity of escalating tensions, "without which it knows will fail in the medium term," said Eric Diard.  

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Defender said most of the nuclear in government, Eric Besson was not afraid of being labeled a provocateur. This is not just a few hundred of the four reactors at the Japanese central Fukushima Daiichi destroyed by the tsunami on March 11 that the Minister of Industry on Tuesday reaffirmed that "France continues to believe in the future a nuclear with the highest standards of safety. " At the invitation of the Japanese Minister of the Environment, the young Goshi Hosono, Eric Besson is the first member of a foreign government to visit the site of the plant.

After two hours of visit, the French minister said he was "reassured by the overall situation." Precautions taken to this particular field trip, as Le Figaro followed, give a first impression otherwise. First, stop sign at the entrance to the perimeter evacuated twenty miles of the plant, the J Village. The training center of the football team of Japan has been converted into a basic life for 3,000 workers who work day and night at the bedside of the atomic plant. Village of J, departure by bus, duly equipped with a white suit, two pairs of gloves, shoe covers as many plastic full mask and two dosimeters.

No lethal dose

First observation of the Minister of Energy, "there is no strong radioactivity around the plant," he relativized. During the visit mainly by bus, with two stops, one at the foot of reactor number 4 disemboweled, Eric Besson has received a dose of 0.033 millisieverts (mSv), about 140 mSv if he stayed all year. The equivalent of seven times the annual dose permitted for an employee of nuclear power in France, and a still higher threshold to 100 mSv, above which the risk of cancer were found no fax needed payday loans. This reassured the Minister in relation to what he expected dosimetry is reduced in some villages in the forbidden zone. Mayor Kawauchi has asked the government authorization of the return of its approximately 2000 to 3000 administered at home.

Other ground of relief to Eric Besson: health outcomes unrelated to the "astronomical figures that have been circulating." If the tsunami of March 11 caused about 20,000 deaths, not one worker has received a lethal radiation dose, Akio Komori confirmed, a director at Tepco, the plant operator. Twenty-eight have received over 150 mSv, which "some more 500mSv". None of this symptom to date, according to Akio Komori. The 3000 employees who are working to ensure the cooling of reactors have restored the control of the situation. However, Akio Komori fears the consequences of a new powerful earthquake on spent fuel pools, not yet secure. Tepco said the head of three challenges: the treatment of contaminated water, soil remediation throughout the area and dismantling of the reactors.

In the situation room installed since March 11 in an earthquake-proof building of the plant, Eric Besson has launched a hundred busy workers behind their screens: "Your job, in difficult conditions, is important for the future of the sector. "A future, he added, that does not exist" without the confidence of the people. " In Japan, despite the persistence of "divers" of Tepco, that confidence has been permanently shaken.

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The absolute independence of the European Central Bank vis-à-vis the policy preventing him from speaking. Mario Draghi has openly acknowledged Thursday: "I received a few minutes ago a call from the Greek prime minister said an agreement had been reached and endorsed by the major parties," said President of the ECB at its monthly press conference in Frankfurt. Thus he was able to announce before everyone else – maybe a little too quickly, given the float that followed in Athens – the good news entrusted to him by Lucas Papademos, the former vice President of the ECB.

But, according to the principle that it is easier to comment on the affairs of others than on his own, he refused to say clearly that the ECB may decide to reduce the debt of Athens, parallel commercial banks: "We are not part of negotiations. But what we hear is that the parts are pretty close to agreement. "

"Prohibited by the European treaties"

Pressed with questions, the successor to Jean-Claude Trichet ended up giving the key to participation of the ECB program "voluntary" Burden Reduction. "If the ECB redistributes some of its profits to the Member States of the ECB … it's not on monetary financing (public debt, which is prohibited by the European treaties), "he dropped. Clearly, it confirms one of the options that have been circulating for a week: the ECB could leave the unrealized gains on its purchase of Greek bonds. Which is approximately 12 billion, knowing that the bonds were acquired on the market at a discount and would be repaid at their face value at maturity.

By hiding again behind the texts prohibiting the bailout States, Mario Draghi shows the difficulty of his task. "The time is long when monetary policy was limited to setting interest rates. Since the debt crisis, the ECB must navigate waters very political, "says economist of a major French bank.

Inflation above the 2%

Monetary field itself, new relaxations are in any case by no means excluded. "Inflation should remain above 2% during the next few months, before falling back below 2%," said Mario Draghi. He worries more than ever a dry supply of bank credit: "We are actually concerned about the slowdown in the credit."

This is why the Governing Council decided to relax the rules on eligibility of collateral (securities pledged as collateral) that commercial banks have to raise cash. These conditions are changed to "temporarily" for seven national central banks, including Bank of France. "Residential real estate loans to individuals are eligible," said a statement released Thursday afternoon in Paris, which lists the technical conditions.

On a neighbor, Mario Draghi provides that the next issue of liquidity to three years, to be held on February 29, could be done "over the range of the previous operation of this type." The banks had obtained, 22 December 2011, 489 billion and 1% over three years.

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The atmosphere is still gloomy at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The Dow Jones was down 0.68% in early trade to 11,494 points and the Nasdaq 0.83% to 2499 points. Signs of slowing global growth are increasing for several days. On Monday, the downward revision of U.S. growth in the third quarter, Wall Street had won. U.S. markets would still blame the shot after the announcement of a further slowdown in the Chinese economy my credit score. Preliminary PMI Manufacturing activity in China, issued by HSBC this morning, recorded in November, its biggest drop since March 2009, to 48 against 51 in October. An index below 50, resulting in fact a contraction of activity.

Slowdown in China …

The country's dependence on exports is the main cause of this fall, analysts said HSBC.