Paris - One of the major themes in the 2022 French presidential election has been de-industrialisation. The car, metallurgy and textile industries alone have lost half of their workforce in the last 40 years. Less and less is being manufactured on French territory.
In this episode, we went to the Decazeville basin in southern France where the loss of its contract with Renault has seen the Aveyronnaise Metallurgy Company (SAM) going out of business. We talk to some of its former employees who are occupying the factory.
There is better news 150km away, where Julien and Myriam Tuffery have taken over and reinvigorated the family clothes business which has been going since 1892. With 25 employees and a growing turnover, they appear to have hit upon a sustainable and modern business model that is still able to preserve a tradition.
