Supporters and family paid tribute in Paris on Saturday to Amaru Dioumassy, who died building a reservoir to allow swimming in the Seine during the Olympics, which open with much fanfare next Thursday.
Malian-born team leader Amara Dioumassy, 51 and father of 12, died on June 16, 2023 in the Slavkova basin, hit by a construction truck that was reversing without beeping when reversing.
Around a hundred union activists and her family members, some in tears, gathered in the rain at the scene of the tragedy on Saturday to demand “recognition and justice for Amara”.
“No provision has been made for the family” and “his children are starving,” said his brother Bally, 38, wearing a CGT flag as a scarf.
“We wanted to hide this death”
“We wanted to hide this death,” charges Lyes Chouaï, a trade union delegate for CGT SADE, a subsidiary of Veolia that employed Amara, and co-organizer of the tribute.
A CGT activist called out to passers-by to remind them that a worker had died there almost a year earlier without arousing their interest.
“He died at the foot of the criminal institution (construction site, editor’s note), they came to his death, he was taken directly to the institution, from where he was sent back to Mali for burial,” says Lyes Chouaï, who worked with Amara.
Supporters of the veteran construction worker condemn serious safety breaches at the site, managed by SADE, whose director is the city of Paris.
When asked by AFP, Paris City Hall and Veolia recalled that a judicial investigation is still underway to “determine responsibility” and to ensure that they “cooperate fully”.
“Except for Death”
The aim of Saturday’s tribute to Lyes Chouaïe was to reach “as many people as possible about this humble death alongside these games that the whole world will see”.
The ceremony comes on the eve of World Day for Safety at Work, of which France is a poor student, with two people dying in the workplace every day, the worst in the European Union.
Protesters also expressed “pain” and “anger” ahead of the inauguration of the Slavkov basin, scheduled for Thursday, during which the town hall said it wanted to “pay tribute” to Amar Dioumassy.
“We were harassed by Paris City Hall to see if the family could be there for the inauguration. It’s a bit rude,” says Lyes Chouaï. “Shame on Paris City Hall! », Bally Dioumassy reacted.
Unlike the vast majority of Olympic projects in the Ile-de-France, which are managed by Solideo, the public institution responsible for the infrastructure of the competitions, the Slavkov basin is managed by the city of Paris.