''Merci patron!'' (') is a French documentary film directed by journalist

François Ruffin François Marcel Joseph Bernard Ruffin (; born 18 October 1975) is a French journalist, filmmaker, author and politician. The founder and editor-in-chief of the satirical quarterly ''Fakir'', he is best-known for directing the film '' Merci patr ...

. It was first screened in 2015 and was released nationally in France on 24 February 2016. The film is critical of the practice of outsourcing French jobs to foreign labour, and in particular it is critical of one of France's richest people,

Bernard Arnault Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault (; born 5 March 1949) is a French business magnate, investor, and art collector. He is the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, the world's largest luxury ...

, chairman and CEO of the luxury goods conglomerate

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house ...

. The style of the documentary has been compared to that of the American director

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...

. The film's success has been cited as a factor in the rise of the Nuit debout movement.

Synopsis

The film's stars are Jocelyn and Serge Klur, former workers at a factory that manufactured clothes for the luxury goods brand

Kenzo is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢三, "wise, three" *健三, "healthy, three" *謙三, "humble, three" *健想, "healthy, concept" *建造, "bu ...

, owned by

. When the factory was moved to Poland, the couple found themselves unemployed, struggling with debt, and at risk of losing their house. The director and left-wing activist

sets out to help the couple, seeking to make

, head of LVMH, pay compensation to the couple for "ruining their lives".

Release

The film was a box office success. By the end of April 2016, the film had been seen by 315,183 cinemagoers in France. Bernard Arnault, when asked about the film by a shareholder at a meeting on 7 April 2016, responded, "LVMH is the illustration, the incarnation of the worst, according to these extreme leftist observers, of what the market economy produces."

Awards

The film won the César for best documentary in 2017, the same year Ruffin was elected to the lower house of the French parliament.

References

External links

* {{César Award for Best Documentary Film French documentary films 2016 films Documentary films about globalization LVMH Documentary films about businesspeople Films about labour 2010s French films