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A large segment of the general public was
outraged by the company's actions -- and moved to demonstrate their
disapproval by following a boycott called for by the threatened
workers. The ideal of social solidarity has held up -- at least
a little -- as consumers refused to support the en masse firings
by a prosperous corporation simply out to increase profit margins.
Boycott actions have spread across the
country since the initial appeal by workers from one of the threatened
factories in Calais. Propelled along politically by the left, the
boycott has expanded quickly as municipalities controlled by communists
(and even Greens and some Socialists) decided to stop purchasing
Danone products for municipal restaurants which include cafeterias,
canteens, school lunchrooms, daycare centers, and hospitals. And
activists have been busy distributing tracts in front of supermarkets
asking consumers to refuse to buy Danone products.
With growing public support for the threatened
workers, it may seem surprising that a lively national debate has
emerged. Perhaps the strangest twist has been the position of some
of the nation's union leadership, who have not supported the boycott.
These critics, which include the CFDT and
FO union leadership consider the boycott "irresponsible." They argue
that the effort to save the jobs of a few hundred workers puts the
jobs of thousands of others at risk should Danone permanently lose
market share to competitors in the long term due to this boycott.
They believe there is no point in harming
Danone -- a profitable French company that has, overall, a strong
record of recognition for workers rights, and supports for social
solidarity -- in favor of foreign multinational competitors, or
even other French companies with poor records of concern for employees.
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