Demonstration of employees of the Seb group against a bill aimed at banning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in France from 2026, on April 3, 2024 in Paris (AFP/ALAIN JOCARD)
“Our pans are neither toxic nor carcinogenic”: in a din of frying pans, and in the scent of pancake batter, several hundred Seb employees expressed their “incomprehension” on Wednesday in Paris, fearing that a proposal of law on PFAS, so-called “eternal pollutants”, does not endanger their jobs.
“Don’t touch my pan” and “Let’s save the pans Made in France” indicate the signs of the demonstrators from all over France, who gathered for three hours on the Esplanade des Invalides, wishing to continue manufacturing utensils in their factories. Tefal using non-stick substances based on contested fluorine derivatives, AFP noted.
Eternal pollutants: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) (AFP/Jonathan WALTER, Sabrina BLANCHARD)
“We are demanding the pure and simple withdrawal of this law,” declared to AFP the general director of the group Stanislas de Gramont, present in the demonstration, marked by an unprecedented common front between management, unions and employees.
He sees in the proposed law “a very direct threat” to the 3,000 jobs at the Seb factories in Rumilly (Haute-Savoie) and Tournus (Saône-et-Loire) which notably manufacture Tefal stoves.
“We are very angry, we are being dragged into amalgams that are not serious at all,” he said, assuring that PTFE (polytetrafluoroethene), used by the group for the non-stick coating of 90% of its pans , was not dangerous.
An argument that some scientists refute, for whom the substance can be problematic at the time of its manufacture and recycling.
“We come to demonstrate to keep our jobs, what is imported is no better than what we have in France” declared to AFP Geneviève Priolo, employee for 32 years at the Rumilly factory . For her, the stoves “are neither toxic nor carcinogenic”.
Demonstration of employees of the Seb group against a bill aimed at banning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in France from 2026, on April 3, 2024 in Paris (AFP/ALAIN JOCARD)
The bill, carried by the environmentalist deputy Nicolas Thierry, must be debated and put to a vote on Thursday in the Assembly.
In particular, it plans to ban the manufacture and sale in France of certain products containing PFAS.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, manufactured in the chemical industry and used in many industrial fields, accumulate over time in the air, soil, river water, food and up to human body, hence their nickname “eternal” pollutants.
– “Why only in France?” –
“Why today, only in France? Why accelerate this ban for France and not in other countries? I don’t understand”, declares, incredulously, Dorian Chossat, 34 years old, Tefal maintenance team leader for two years, at the Tournus factory.
Demonstration of employees of the Seb group against a bill aimed at banning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in France from 2026, on April 3, 2024 in Paris (AFP/ALAIN JOCARD)
This is an argument that often comes up in the mouth of management, while Brussels has begun a vast reflection to categorize PFAS, and ban some in a targeted manner.
“In the company, we have always talked about the environment, sorting waste. Today, we are completely incomprehensible,” summarizes Naïma Kassi, 45, who has worked in the quality laboratory for eight years. from the Rumilly factory and had his three children looked after to come and defend his job and his business.
A sign that the mobilization of the Seb group seems to be starting to have an impact, an amendment tabled by Modem MP Cyrille Isaac-Sibille intends to postpone the ban applied to kitchen utensils to January 1, 2030.
The general director of SEB, Stanislas de Gramont, during a demonstration against the proposed law to ban PFAS, on April 3, 2024 in Paris (AFP/ALAIN JOCARD)
“Today, saying that an industrialist wants to prosper with PFAS, that’s what poses a problem,” said Nicolas Thierry, contacted by AFP, for whom “it’s very cynical to exploit employees as they do. make”.
“Ecology without industry will not work! This requires dialogue, not a bill which will further speed things up,” proclaimed Frédéric Souillot, general secretary of FO, cheered by the clanking of stoves .
© 2024 AFP
Did you like this article ? Share it with your friends using the buttons below.
