Pressure from the allies makes the President of the Republic back down
At a Defense Council meeting on September 3, François Hollande reviewed his position on the delivery of the Mistrals to Russia. He specified that the conditions were no longer met for such a delivery. "Russia's recent actions in eastern Ukraine contravene the foundations of security in Europe. The President of the Republic has noted that, despite the prospect of a ceasefire that has yet to be confirmed and implemented, the conditions for France to authorize the delivery of the first BPC (projection and command ship, editor's note) have not been met to date." read the official press release from the Elysée Palace.
With the situation in Ukraine particularly critical and the NATO summit approaching (which begins this Thursday, September 4), the President of the Republic has taken a stand alongside his partners, who support Ukraine. While François Hollande had kept the right to reserve his final decision in October, to the delivery of the first Mistral, taking into account the expected change of attitude of the Russian president, he gave in under the pressure of other governments, notably the Americans and the Anglo-Saxons who see the Franco-Russian transaction in a very bad light
Employees at risk of short-time working
Employees at the STX shipyard in Saint-Nazaire are continuing to work, as no work stoppage has been filed for the moment. While around thirty workers are still working on the first Mistral, which was to be delivered at the beginning of October, 300 people are working on the second ship, still in dry dock. It is therefore on this side that there are fears of a forced work stoppage. On the side of the unions, opinions are divided. Force Ouvrière is fiercely defending jobs and employees, while the CGT and CFDT are more moderate and explain that this is a situation that could happen in view of Russia's actions.
If the contract were to be cancelled, it would mean a loss of 1.2 billion euros and a loss of revenue for the city of Saint-Nazaire, which hopes that the State would compensate for the losses generated.
