Immediate Closure and Remote Work Order
Telecom giant Orange has ordered the immediate closure of its Marseille headquarters in the sensitive Saint-Mauront district, with most of the 1,000 employees switching to remote work until mid-December. The decision follows what the company describes as a “rise in tensions” in the area surrounding the National metro station exit.
Escalating Security Incidents
According to union sources and company communications, employees were confined indoors on Tuesday due to a “fight between drug dealers” in the street. Further incidents reported this week include a police chase on Wednesday and four gunshots heard near the site on Thursday.
The CFDT union stated that staff using public transport have been “very stressed” and that all employees were confined inside the building for several dozen minutes on multiple recent occasions. The union referenced previous violent incidents in the neighborhood, including a shooting on October 23, declaring that “narcotraffic has put employees under siege.”
Conflicting Accounts from Authorities
Police authorities have offered contrasting perspectives on the situation. Corinne Simon, delegated police prefect for Bouches-du-Rhône, acknowledged employee fears while disputing some reported details.
“I told him: we will reassure your employees. I understand they’re afraid, I’m told shots were fired, but at the same time police went to the location and found nothing,” Simon stated, while emphasizing she takes the situation “seriously.”
Police officials noted that no emergency calls were made to police from Orange employees last week, and no formal complaints were filed. However, Simon confirmed that police patrols have been “increased since Thursday evening.”
Union Reactions and Broader Context
The CGT union has called for permanent security measures rather than closure, arguing that abandoning the “emblematic” site would send “a bad signal to employees and residents of working-class neighborhoods.”
The closure occurs against a backdrop of ongoing drug-related violence in Marseille, which was recently shaken by the November 13 murder of Mehdi Kessaci, younger brother of an anti-drug trafficking activist.
Orange has stated it awaits “a return to a calm situation in the neighborhood” before reopening the facility, while technical staff will continue working on-site but are required to commute by car.
