Unions want justice for worker who died on Paris Olympics construction site

Trade unionists and relatives of a Malian worker who died on a construction site for the Paris Olympic Games gathered to demand recognition and justice. Their homage came on the eve of World Day for Safety and Health at Work.

Inside view of the Austerlitz rainwater reservoir, 50m in diameter and 30m deep. The gigantic work is part of the Seine River decontamination project for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 3 April, 2024. © RFI Maria Paula Carvalho

In total, around a hundred union activists and family members, some in tears, gathered on Saturday afternoon in the pouring rain at the scene of the tragedy to demand "recognition and justice for Amara".

51-year-old team leader, Amara Dioumassy died on 16 June, 2023 on the construction site of the Austerlitz basin intended to improve the quality of the Seine river water for swimming events during the Paris Olympics.

The site is due to be inaugurated next week.

An employee of the Darras et Jouanin company, Dioumassy was hit by a construction truck which was reversing without a warning alarm, according to his colleagues who denounced serious safety breaches on the site.

Dangerous deadlines

Lyes Chouaï, CGT union leader from SADE, a subsidiary of Veolia which was working on the site says Diomassy's death has been pushed under the carpet.

This project "really seemed unacceptable to us in terms of safety standards" Chouaï pointed out to French news agency AFP.

"We had to move quickly to meet deadlines", he said, adding "there was no marking on the ground of the direction of movement of the vehicles".

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Unlike the vast majority of Olympic projects in Ile-de-France managed by Solideo, the public establishment responsible for infrastructure for the competitions, the Austerlitz basin is managed by the Paris town hall.

Investigation

Co-organiser of Saturday's tribute, Chouaï said unions wanted to appeal to "as many people as possible in relation to this modest death alongside these Games which will be seen by the whole world".

The ceremony took place on the eve of World Day for Safety and Health at Work, organised by the International Labour Organization.

France the worst record for accidents in the European Union, with two people dying every day in the workplace according to official figures.

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"No action has been done for the family" and "his children are starving," denounced his brother, Bally, 38 years old, adding Diomassy was father to 12 children.

Asked by AFP, the Paris town hall and Veolia recalled that the judicial investigation was still underway to "determine responsibilities", ensuring that they had "fully cooperated".

In 2021 in France, there were 640,000 work accidents, including 39,000 serious and 696 fatal, according to figures from Health Insurance, the public body which compensates victims.

(with AFP)