At War

'The reality of the market is extremely harsh and neither you nor I can do anything about it.' With this neoliberal phrase, a representative of the company management tries to justify the closure of a plant of the automotive supplier Perrin in Agen in south-west France to the striking workforce. More than a thousand jobs are at stake. In addition, the employer is in breach of an agreement reached two years previously with the planned closure: This guaranteed job security for five years - on the condition that working hours were increased from 35 to 40 hours while wages remained the same and bonus payments were canceled. The declaration that this agreement is now obsolete in view of the slow increase in profits at the site is a slap in the face for the workforce. Laurent Amedeo soon emerges as the union spokesman, who tries to channel the concentrated anger of his fellow campaigners into constructive channels with reason and passion. As the film progresses, the industrial action becomes more and more intense and increasingly focuses on the differences within the strikers. The movement is increasingly divided between those who want to fight to the bitter end to keep their jobs and those who are in favor of negotiating the highest possible severance pay with the management.