Published
Update
Video length: 2 min
Cinema: the film “Les Petites mains” revisits the chambermaids’ strikes
On the program for Wednesday, May 1, a lovely, moving comedy inspired by the struggle of the chambermaids at the Ibis hotel in Batignolles.
(France 2)
On the program for Wednesday, May 1, a lovely, moving comedy inspired by the struggle of the chambermaids at the Ibis hotel in Batignolles.
Eva, 20, starts her new job as a maid. She is used to working in the hotel industry but nothing had prepared her for the demands of a large palace. Among her new colleagues, women on strike for more rights and better pay. The film is inspired by the mobilizations, in recent years, of chambermaids against subcontracting and the infernal pace in several Parisian hotels. The longest strike, lasting 22 months, was notable for its duration and media coverage.
A screening dedicated to strikers
To write his fiction, the director met several strikers. The maids who had participated in the strikes were able to see the film during a screening dedicated to them. “We are proud of what we have done, because today at the Ibis hotel, a chambermaid who earned 800, 900 euros manages to earn 1,500, even 1,800”, rejoices one of them. A social comedy to enjoy on this day of workers’ rights.
