Printers were in the spotlight for several days in the general media. TV viewers and readers were able to discover the workshops and rotary presses used to print the leaflets, professions de foi, bulletins and posters for the municipal elections.
"First time in 45 years that I've seen this" for SPI printers
This year, printing deadlines for these elections, which take place every six years, were particularly tight. In some communes, printers had just 72 hours to print hundreds of thousands of pages.
On Europe 1 gérard Baude, manager of the SPI printing works, testified: "This is the first time in 45 years that I've seen this. There were still candidates looking for printers last night. Working in these conditions is a bit complex (...) Candidates arrive at the last minute and they have these deadlines, so we're a bit caught out."
Millions printed in just a few days
In Valence, in the Drôme region, the Despesse printing works had to produce around three million printed documents in forty-eight hours for some fifty candidates located in Valence, Lyon and the Paris region.
"We're increasing our daily working hours. And we come to work on Saturdays and Sundays", explained workshop manager Pascal Descarpentiers on France 3. "Every time, it's always sport. (...) But in this business, we're used to going fast, so it's not too much of a problem," he says, emphasizes the company's General Manager, Jean-Jérôme Despesse.
These orders represent around 10% of additional monthly sales for Imprimerie Despesse.
At Imprimerie Goubault, in La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, 500,000 documents and posters were printed in one week. On France Bleu says Lina Rizk, Associate Director of the printing company: "We're a local company, so it's important for us to participate in local life through these elections. It's also a sign of confidence to see that twenty lists are working with us."
The regional daily The New Republic also visited Imprimerie Medi6. Its manager, Alain Deville Chabrolle, explains that he is constantly having to respond to candidates' concerns. Interrupted by a phone call during the interview, he reassures his interlocutor: "Don't worry, I'm the fireman on duty."
A workshop on TF1's 8 p.m. news
This intense activity also attracts the cameras. TF1's 8pm news on Thursday February 26 visited Nord'Imprim. The 49 employees of the company based in Steenvoorde, in the Nord region of France, worked for almost 200 candidates. "We're going to adapt, we're going to try to move forward as much as possible", explained manager Ludovic de Kerizouët.
Teams are also mobilized on Sundays. "No sleeping in, we're in the thick of it. We know what we're working for. Thank you politicsâeuros!" joked Laurent Lévêque, a massicotier who had come to work on a Sunday as an exception.
And Quality Manager Vanessa Cuer Delassus takes advantage of the cameras to remind us of the importance of paper in the electoral process: "In small villages, in small towns with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, for example, they don't all have access to social networks or the Internet. When you receive a paper in your letterbox, it's impactful, it's striking. You can read it and reread it several times
Printers already looking ahead to the second round
Bézin Haller of the Anorfi group in Chalon-sur-Saône and Montchanin in Saône-et-Loire, and the IC4 printing plant in Normandy were also highlighted by the press.
Teams everywhere have been working to deliver the first-round documents on time. But printers already know that the pace won't slow down immediately. All are already preparing production for the second round of municipal elections, scheduled for Sunday March 22.
