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| The Film ‘Merci Patron!’ Emerges as a Rallying Cry in France | The Film ‘Merci Patron!’ Emerges as a Rallying Cry in France |
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| PARIS — A guerrilla-style documentary film that pits a pair of unemployed garment workers against the billionaire head of the luxury giant LVMH-Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has emerged as a sleeper hit in France, where it has become a rallying cry against a government proposal to overhaul the labor code. | PARIS — A guerrilla-style documentary film that pits a pair of unemployed garment workers against the billionaire head of the luxury giant LVMH-Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has emerged as a sleeper hit in France, where it has become a rallying cry against a government proposal to overhaul the labor code. |
| Since opening on Feb. 24 with little marketing, François Ruffin’s “Merci Patron!,” or “Thanks Boss!,” has been booked in almost 800 theaters and has been seen by about 260,000 people, according to its distributor, in a country where 50,000 is considered a success for a documentary. | Since opening on Feb. 24 with little marketing, François Ruffin’s “Merci Patron!,” or “Thanks Boss!,” has been booked in almost 800 theaters and has been seen by about 260,000 people, according to its distributor, in a country where 50,000 is considered a success for a documentary. |
| Last week, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the Place de la République in Paris for an open-air screening of the film. The students and union members, who have occupied the square every night since March 31 as part of a movement called “Nuit Debout,” or “Night on Our Feet,” sang the lyrics from the film’s 1971 title song, a sarcastic homage to factory shift work by the comedy troupe Les Charlots. | Last week, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the Place de la République in Paris for an open-air screening of the film. The students and union members, who have occupied the square every night since March 31 as part of a movement called “Nuit Debout,” or “Night on Our Feet,” sang the lyrics from the film’s 1971 title song, a sarcastic homage to factory shift work by the comedy troupe Les Charlots. |
| The film has also been shown on makeshift screens in cities like Lyon and Marseille as the protests against the labor overhaul have spread across France. | The film has also been shown on makeshift screens in cities like Lyon and Marseille as the protests against the labor overhaul have spread across France. |
| “Technically, it is forbidden for a film to be shown this way while it is still in the movie theaters,” said Etienne Ollagnier, who is involved in marketing for the film’s distributor, Jour2Fête. “But it’s not only a film anymore. It has become a symbol of what’s happening in the streets.” | “Technically, it is forbidden for a film to be shown this way while it is still in the movie theaters,” said Etienne Ollagnier, who is involved in marketing for the film’s distributor, Jour2Fête. “But it’s not only a film anymore. It has become a symbol of what’s happening in the streets.” |
| “Merci Patron!” follows Mr. Ruffin’s efforts on behalf of Jocelyne and Serge Klur, a couple in the northern French town of Forest-en-Cambrésis who lost their jobs in 2007 after the closing of a factory that made suits for LVMH brands, after production was moved to Eastern Europe. | “Merci Patron!” follows Mr. Ruffin’s efforts on behalf of Jocelyne and Serge Klur, a couple in the northern French town of Forest-en-Cambrésis who lost their jobs in 2007 after the closing of a factory that made suits for LVMH brands, after production was moved to Eastern Europe. |
| He coaches the now-destitute Klurs, whose home is threatened with foreclosure. Posing as their son with dyed blond hair, he guides them on a quest to demand 35,000 euros, about $40,000, to settle their debts and to win a minimum-wage job for Mr. Klur from LVMH and its chief executive, Bernard Arnault. | He coaches the now-destitute Klurs, whose home is threatened with foreclosure. Posing as their son with dyed blond hair, he guides them on a quest to demand 35,000 euros, about $40,000, to settle their debts and to win a minimum-wage job for Mr. Klur from LVMH and its chief executive, Bernard Arnault. |
| Olivier Labesse, a spokesman for Mr. Arnault, said the company was not commenting about the film. But he emphasized that LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton was a major employer with 120,000 workers around the world, including more than 20,000 in France. Last year its revenues totaled 35.7 billion euros, or about $40.8 billion. | |
| Mr. Arnault is known in France for his philanthropy and sponsorship of the arts, including the recently opened new Louis Vuitton Foundation museum in Paris, and his support for restoration projects at Versailles and the Paris Opera. | Mr. Arnault is known in France for his philanthropy and sponsorship of the arts, including the recently opened new Louis Vuitton Foundation museum in Paris, and his support for restoration projects at Versailles and the Paris Opera. |
| The film was released at a time when the loss of middle-class jobs to globalization has become a flash point in the politics of the United States and many European countries, including France, where the political left is battling to head off the labor reforms being pushed by centrists in President François Hollande’s Socialist government. | The film was released at a time when the loss of middle-class jobs to globalization has become a flash point in the politics of the United States and many European countries, including France, where the political left is battling to head off the labor reforms being pushed by centrists in President François Hollande’s Socialist government. |
| The film’s populist theme appears to have struck a chord here. But with the publicity have come questions about whether Mr. Ruffin, in his self-styled role as Robin Hood, has manipulated his subjects to advance his agenda. He made the film on a shoestring budget, with the money coming from crowdfunding as well as 40,000 euros from Fakir, a satirical left-wing magazine that he edits. | The film’s populist theme appears to have struck a chord here. But with the publicity have come questions about whether Mr. Ruffin, in his self-styled role as Robin Hood, has manipulated his subjects to advance his agenda. He made the film on a shoestring budget, with the money coming from crowdfunding as well as 40,000 euros from Fakir, a satirical left-wing magazine that he edits. |
| Mr. Ruffin freely credits the director Michael Moore and his 1989 documentary “Roger & Me” as inspiration for “Merci Patron!” He stages a number of slapstick encounters to reach Mr. Arnault, similar to the way Mr. Moore tried to chase down the General Motors chief executive, Roger Smith. In one, he shows up at an annual meeting of LVMH shareholders only to be ejected after he dons a T-shirt with the words “I Love Bernard.” | Mr. Ruffin freely credits the director Michael Moore and his 1989 documentary “Roger & Me” as inspiration for “Merci Patron!” He stages a number of slapstick encounters to reach Mr. Arnault, similar to the way Mr. Moore tried to chase down the General Motors chief executive, Roger Smith. In one, he shows up at an annual meeting of LVMH shareholders only to be ejected after he dons a T-shirt with the words “I Love Bernard.” |
| “If someone had written this script for the film, it would not have been credible,” Mr. Ruffin said. “Reality is better than fiction.” | “If someone had written this script for the film, it would not have been credible,” Mr. Ruffin said. “Reality is better than fiction.” |
| “Merci Patron!” has also benefited from the buzz of censorship accusations. Mr. Ruffin said he has been shut out of the television talk show circuit in a nation where most of the mainstream media is controlled by a few conglomerates. | “Merci Patron!” has also benefited from the buzz of censorship accusations. Mr. Ruffin said he has been shut out of the television talk show circuit in a nation where most of the mainstream media is controlled by a few conglomerates. |
| In late February a radio interview with the director was abruptly canceled by the privately owned Europe 1. Then, in March, the union for journalists from Le Parisien — a daily newspaper that LVMH acquired last year — publicly accused their new editor of blocking reviews of the film because he argued that the Klurs were being manipulated. | In late February a radio interview with the director was abruptly canceled by the privately owned Europe 1. Then, in March, the union for journalists from Le Parisien — a daily newspaper that LVMH acquired last year — publicly accused their new editor of blocking reviews of the film because he argued that the Klurs were being manipulated. |
| But while Mr. Moore was never able to reach his goal of getting Mr. Smith in “Roger & Me” to visit Flint, Mich., Mr. Ruffin was somewhat more successful. After the Klurs, under his guidance, threaten to send letters to major news outlets about their financial woes, a tough-talking LVMH representative visits their home to offer a settlement. | But while Mr. Moore was never able to reach his goal of getting Mr. Smith in “Roger & Me” to visit Flint, Mich., Mr. Ruffin was somewhat more successful. After the Klurs, under his guidance, threaten to send letters to major news outlets about their financial woes, a tough-talking LVMH representative visits their home to offer a settlement. |
| “Above all,” the emissary urges — recorded on a hidden camera hidden between the paws of a cheetah sculpture — “Don’t talk to anyone!” | “Above all,” the emissary urges — recorded on a hidden camera hidden between the paws of a cheetah sculpture — “Don’t talk to anyone!” |
| Jean-Pierre Garnier, a sociologist in Paris and an expert on urban politics, said it might seem surprising that LVMH would try to pay off the Klurs, who in the film are shown subsisting on ¤4 a day and vegetables from a kitchen garden. But he said the company was simply being pragmatic. “Bernard Arnault is very conscious of his image,” Mr. Garnier said. “He is a patron of the arts. And here are these workers who could stain that image of him as cynical and indifferent to their misery and despondence.” | Jean-Pierre Garnier, a sociologist in Paris and an expert on urban politics, said it might seem surprising that LVMH would try to pay off the Klurs, who in the film are shown subsisting on ¤4 a day and vegetables from a kitchen garden. But he said the company was simply being pragmatic. “Bernard Arnault is very conscious of his image,” Mr. Garnier said. “He is a patron of the arts. And here are these workers who could stain that image of him as cynical and indifferent to their misery and despondence.” |
| But he also noted the criticism that Mr. Ruffin was manipulating the Klurs. There is a moment in the film where Mr. Ruffin asks Ms. Klur if she is satisfied with the payment from LVMH. She agrees, but then is corrected by Mr. Ruffin, who encourages the family to press further for a permanent supermarket job for Mr. Klur. | But he also noted the criticism that Mr. Ruffin was manipulating the Klurs. There is a moment in the film where Mr. Ruffin asks Ms. Klur if she is satisfied with the payment from LVMH. She agrees, but then is corrected by Mr. Ruffin, who encourages the family to press further for a permanent supermarket job for Mr. Klur. |
| “Everyone on the right and the left gets media training to go on television,” Mr. Ruffin said of the criticism. “And it seems to me that the Klurs have the right to media training as well.” | “Everyone on the right and the left gets media training to go on television,” Mr. Ruffin said of the criticism. “And it seems to me that the Klurs have the right to media training as well.” |
| The Klurs have declined to be interviewed. They saw the movie for the first time on a computer at their dining room table, said Marie-Hélène Bourlard, a former factory worker in the movie who introduced Mr. Ruffin to the couple. | The Klurs have declined to be interviewed. They saw the movie for the first time on a computer at their dining room table, said Marie-Hélène Bourlard, a former factory worker in the movie who introduced Mr. Ruffin to the couple. |
| Ms. Bourlard said that she and the Klurs were satisfied with their portrayals in the film, adding that Serge Klur had begun to be recognized in the supermarket where he now works. “It’s an amusing film because ordinary people challenged a powerful businessman and they won,” she said. “They bluffed him.” | Ms. Bourlard said that she and the Klurs were satisfied with their portrayals in the film, adding that Serge Klur had begun to be recognized in the supermarket where he now works. “It’s an amusing film because ordinary people challenged a powerful businessman and they won,” she said. “They bluffed him.” |
| Mr. Ruffin has appeared at screenings around the country to take questions from audiences. At one of those events last month in Rouen, he was joined onstage by an LVMH executive, Marc-Antoine Jamet, who is the company’s secretary general and also a Socialist politician. | Mr. Ruffin has appeared at screenings around the country to take questions from audiences. At one of those events last month in Rouen, he was joined onstage by an LVMH executive, Marc-Antoine Jamet, who is the company’s secretary general and also a Socialist politician. |
| In the film, Mr. Ruffin and Mr. Jamet are filmed by a hidden camera at a restaurant while discussing a deal for the Klurs — with Mr. Ruffin wearing a Mexican sombrero with gold tassels. | In the film, Mr. Ruffin and Mr. Jamet are filmed by a hidden camera at a restaurant while discussing a deal for the Klurs — with Mr. Ruffin wearing a Mexican sombrero with gold tassels. |
| Speaking to the crowd, Mr. Jamet insisted that Mr. Arnault had not seen the film, and, at the same time, he praised Mr. Ruffin’s “extraordinary courage.” | Speaking to the crowd, Mr. Jamet insisted that Mr. Arnault had not seen the film, and, at the same time, he praised Mr. Ruffin’s “extraordinary courage.” |
| Then, he noted that most of the audience members were probably wearing clothing made in foreign countries, including Mr. Ruffin’s “I Love Bernard” T-shirt. | Then, he noted that most of the audience members were probably wearing clothing made in foreign countries, including Mr. Ruffin’s “I Love Bernard” T-shirt. |
| “That was made in China by child laborers,” he said, and then — drowned out by jeers and whistles — he walked off the stage. | “That was made in China by child laborers,” he said, and then — drowned out by jeers and whistles — he walked off the stage. |
| In an interview this week with Paris-Normandie, a regional newspaper in northern France, Mr. Jamet said that he was aware of the hidden camera during filming and that he been the target of spiteful comments and death threats. | In an interview this week with Paris-Normandie, a regional newspaper in northern France, Mr. Jamet said that he was aware of the hidden camera during filming and that he been the target of spiteful comments and death threats. |
| “I feel I have created many hundreds of jobs annually,” he said. “But when they reproach me for the loss of two jobs, I find that childish, unfair and not very democratic.” | “I feel I have created many hundreds of jobs annually,” he said. “But when they reproach me for the loss of two jobs, I find that childish, unfair and not very democratic.” |