They had to leave their country but not their job: Ukrainian workers fleeing the war were welcomed in the north of France by their French employer, a textile company, where they continue to make coats.
In front of her computer in a vast workshop lit by glass roofs within the Lener-Cordier factory in Hazebrouck (North), Nadia Kotova skillfully juxtaposes the pieces of cloth to be cut to make a size 38 coat with the minimum of waste. It is the same work that she did in kyiv until February 24, in the Ukrainian design office of this French family group which manufactures coats, jackets and other trench coats for many brands.
The neighborhood was bombed, and the workshop in kyiv has been closed for a month. “We fled to Lviv, in western Ukraine, and Mr. Lener offered to come to France,” explains Ms. Kotova. “We didn’t want to leave: there is my husband, my daughter’s husband, my brother there… but there was work, and we had to get the children to safety”.
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The designer arrived with her two daughters, aged 17 and 27, and her one-year-old granddaughter. She is temporarily housed in a house loaned by a French colleague, then should join a lodging loaned by the inhabitants of Hazebrouck, where the town hall has also made accommodation available.
Like her, seven colleagues or ex-colleagues arrived with relatives – 16 Ukrainians since March 9. Five of these employees quickly returned to their duties within the company.
As evidenced by the blue and yellow colors very present in its premises, Lener-Cordier maintains long-standing ties with Ukraine. The group has been established there since 1994 and produces the majority of its coats there, employing 250 employees in a factory set up in the west of the country since 2004. This factory, spared by the fighting, is still in operation, and Lener-Cordier strives to continue producing in Ukraine. “But we have to think about the time after”underlines the CEO, Fréderic Lener, referring to relocation or the search for other sites abroad.
The group relied on its local teams to ship humanitarian aid by truck, joined by French textile producers united in the association How toretail companies or private individuals, who have come to drop off a pallet of potatoes or medicines.
Once the employees of the design office are safe out of kyiv, “the question arose: what do we do if our design office is closed in Ukraine?”, explains Mr. Lener. “Some had already decided to go to Poland. I suggested that they come to France and organize their reception”.
“These are people we have known for more than 20 years, employees, collaborators, some have become friends, it was obvious as an approach, it happened very spontaneously”, he points out. “They were very well received.”
A Franco-Ukrainian employee, Olga, a former employee in Ukraine who joined the Hazebrouck workshops years ago after meeting her husband in this city during a business trip, serves as interpreter. The rest communicate through translation apps. “We are used to working together remotely”, explains Valérie Loquet, responsible for model makers. “We already knew each other a little, and somewhere, for us it’s easier to work side by side”.
For the moment, the five employees are considered to be on mission. And all the members of the group are in the process of recording in France, while keeping the hope of returning soon to Ukraine.
In the meantime, Nadia’s daughter should soon join a French high school. “Fear and joy, all my emotions are mixed. My children are protected here but my heart is there”, emphasizes Nadia, whose building next to hers was bombed. “I want to go home”she concludes, quoting a Ukrainian proverb: “With friends it’s good. But at home it’s better”.