The party will not take place. While Scopelec was to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary in January 2023, the largest French cooperative and participatory company (SCOP), specializing in the deployment of telecom networks, fell into the hands of Circet, the European leader in the sector. The decision was announced on Wednesday, December 28, by the Lyon Commercial Court, called to rule on the future of the company, placed in receivership since September 26. According to the judgment, Circet undertakes to take over 1,049 employees out of the 2,212 that Scopelec and its main subsidiary, Setelen, included in the offer.
Activities in Reunion, Mayotte and in the south-east of the metropolis are not affected by this recovery. Their fate is not yet decided. But the south-eastern part could later return to the Solutions 30 group, which had filed an offer to this effect with the Lyon commercial court. In addition to Circet and Solutions 30, three other companies had also applied for part of the assets of the cooperative from Tarn. A sixth potential buyer had withdrawn at the last moment.
Before the judges, Circet pledged “to make its best efforts, with certain regions concerned, for the implementation of support measures that can be offered to employees not included in order to facilitate their return to employment”. He also promised to “not to lay off employees for economic reasons for a period of twelve months, except with special authorization from the court”. Requested by The worldthe management of Circet did not wish to comment on the judgment of the Commercial Court of Lyon.
At Scopelec, we welcome this decision with spite. “It’s a sad end for the first SCOP in France”reacts Carlos Verkaeren, appointed Chairman of the Management Board of Scopelec on 1is September, with the mission of saving the cooperative status of the group. In a few weeks, he had put together a takeover offer carried by a new SCOP, called “Newscope”. It promised to take over 1,413 employees, nearly 400 more than with the Circet plan, which had enabled it to obtain the favors of the social and economic committee of Scopelec.
“Financial solidity” of Circet
In mid-December, in an open letter addressed to Emmanuel Macron, the employees of the SCOP, supported by several politicians, in particular the president of the Occitanie region, Carole Delga (Socialist Party), and the deputy François Ruffin (New Union popular ecological and social), had urged the President of the Republic to position himself in favor of a project guaranteeing “that the fruits of the labor of the women and men of Scopelec [soient] not paid to shareholders in France or abroad, but to their employees and members on [le] territory “. Founded in 1993, Circet has experienced several changes of financial shareholders in recent years. It has been held since October 2021 by the British investment fund Intermediate Capital Group.
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