PARIS — French workers burned tires, marched on the presidential palace and held a manager of U.S. manufacturer 3M hostage Wednesday as anger mounted over job cuts and executive bonuses.
Rising public outrage at employers on both sides of the Atlantic has been triggered by executives cashing in bonus checks even as their companies were kept afloat with billions in taxpayers’ money and unemployment soars.
The $4.3 million exit bonus paid to the former head of Valeo SA, an auto-parts maker that received state aid, has fueled outrage in France. Controversy also grew Wednesday over bonuses at brokerage company Cheuvreux, a unit of a French bank that got state handouts.
A French 3M executive was being held hostage for the second day at a plant south of Paris, as workers protested layoffs. Emma Vandore, The Associated Press
