“This is the first time in thirty years of existence. » François Moreau, general director of the printing house that bears his name in Compiegne (Oise), called every five minutes after the announcement of the dissolution of the National Assembly on Sunday, June 9.
This Monday, the candidate called him again to print out the classic campaign package: campaign posters, ballot papers and confessions of faith. “I told him it was too late. The state gives us until 6:00 pm Tuesday to deliver everything. »
250 tons of paper
As early legislative elections scheduled for June 30 and July 7 approached, Oisian, accustomed to working for elections but with less urgency, was forced to turn away candidates. “All those located below Lyon (Rhone),” the manager clarifies. We are limited by a busy schedule. We do printing, cutting and packaging. We usually have a few months; We have a few days there. »
Despite this, more than 250 candidates from about ten political parties contacted Moro’s printing house. “In major elections we have fewer candidates, but more volume,” continues the CEO. Here it’s the other way around, and it takes more time for the site’s 80 employees. We need to produce 20 million ballots, 20 million circulars and about 100,000 posters. »
Fortunately for the Compiègne company, supplies of paper were still available. In this way, employees could start working immediately on the first order, and additional paper could be quickly delivered to the premises located at Mercières ZAC to keep up with the times. A total of 250 tons of paper will be required to complete the first round.
For this purpose, the printing house did not attract additional labor. “We cannot train someone in such a short period of time,” says François Moreau. So we reorganized our teams. They worked overtime and worked on weekends. »
“The pace is stable, but we are holding on”
Frederick, the press operator, has worked here for twenty-five years. He colors, folds and “cuts” (cut out) professions of faith. On Friday he delayed it until 9pm: “We usually finish at 6pm, but we need to keep up with the times. We did rotations because these are real races. The pace is steady, but we hold on. »
Moreover, the printing house has to juggle 200 titles with which it regularly works. “These are mainly municipal or community publications, as well as more specialized magazines,” says François Moreau, passing by another supplement dedicated to AC-DC in Rolling Stone magazine!
“Some publications had to be temporarily postponed, but everything will be published on time,” he assures, and pallets from many candidates stand between the walls of the machines. When shipping, all boxes are wrapped in protective film before loading onto trucks. “If the Europeans have a candidate presenting 40 semi-trailers, then the candidate fits on a pallet,” explains the director.
In this forest of boxes, the candidate for Lutte Ouvrière in the 6th constituency of Oise, Jean-Marc Iskin, is trying to find his way this Monday. “I need to send the ballots of our candidates to Ile-de-France and Normandy,” he explains. I check that nothing is missing. We do not have a general secretariat, we do everything ourselves. »
Source: Le Parisien
I have worked in the news industry for over 12 years. I have a vast amount of experience in different areas of the industry, including politics. I am currently a political news writer for 24 News Recorder. I have also written a book about politics. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, as well as traveling.
