For a while, the delegate minister responsible for industry, Roland Lescure, considered organizing a visit, in October, to the La Belle-Iloise cannery, in Quiberon (Morbihan), at the end of the peninsula of the same name . The examination of the “immigration” bill began in the Senate and he thus wanted to demonstrate the relevance of the famous article 3, which provided for the regularization of undocumented immigrants in professions in tension, convinced, as he declared on September 12 that “the reindustrialization of France would not happen without immigration”.
La Belle-Iloise was a priori a good example: the company trained, from 2019 to 2021, groups of around ten refugees – who had already obtained papers – to be production operators. Learning French and an immersive internship allowed the majority of them to work as seasonal workers, or even to continue on a longer contract. But ultimately there will be no ministerial visit. La Belle-Iloise will refuse to explain why, contenting itself with responding that the subject is ” burning “.
The company won’t say it officially, but an article from West France dated 2021 left him with very bad memories. However, he described his model integration program in benevolent terms. Except that the publication led to hundreds of hateful comments on social networks. “We do less for the homeless”, “How many unemployed French people [sic] we trained? », “With 10 million poor people in France, anything”… An anthology which left its mark on the actors close to the file: the local mission as well as the training center.
Many devices in place
The case of La Belle-Iloise is not unique: more and more Breton industrialists are resorting to the training of migrants to compensate for the lack of labor, but refuse to talk about it openly for fear of raising concerns. violent reactions. With an unemployment rate of 5.8% in the second quarter of 2023 – the second lowest regional rate in France – the region is particularly affected by labor shortages: 462,000 positions would need to be filled in the region. by 2030 in all sectors, according to the Ministry of the Economy.
Kodiko, Sésame, Melting Breizh… Integration through work schemes have spread across the region over the years, supported by various institutions: local missions, Pôle emploi, employment associations. Responsible for the HOPE program of the National Agency for Vocational Training for Adults in Brittany and Loire-Atlantique, Lionel Frein connects businesses in difficulty and refugees for professional training with language courses. “When it was launched, in 2017, it was an experiment, above all to free up accommodation places”, he notes.
You have 50% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.