Updated Sacked Sony workers at a video tape plant in Pontonx-sur-l'Adour, south-west France, yesterday demonstrated a bit of the old Bastille spirit by taking hostage the company's chief exec who'd dropped in for a final "courtesy visit" to the 300 dismissed employees.

The workers are apparently a bit miffed that their redundancy packages are less than those offered to other French Sony workers, and "dozens of staff" seized Serge Foucher at 5pm and then "barricaded the entry to the site with tree trunks".

Patrick Hachaguer of the "communist-leaning" CGT union "confirmed that Foucher had spent the night shut in a meeting room". He reported: "He won't listen to us, we didn't find any other solution."

Those among you who consider the workers' reaction to their dismissal a little excessive should note that Foucher is fortunate not to be chief exec of Graziano Transmissioni India.

Lalit Kishore Choudhary was last year beaten to death by angry former employees at the company's car parts factory in Uttar Pradesh state. ®

Update

It appears Foucher has now been released, having agreed with to return to the negotiating table. More here for those with a command of the French lingo.

Related stories

• Explosive French workers threaten second factory (15 July 2009)
• French workers threaten to blow up factory (13 July 2009)
• French lead world in eating and sleeping (5 May 2009)
• HP packing workers seal bosses in conference room (17 April 2009)
• Brief Workers take Caterpillar Inc managers hostage (31 March 2009)
• Revolting French workers bite 3M's balles (26 March 2009)
• French 3M workers barricade boss in office (25 March 2009)
• Indian chief exec murder 'a warning for management' (26 September 2008)
• Sacked Indian workers beat chief exec to death (23 September 2008)