'Bossnappings' have multiplied in the past few weeks after the announcements of job cuts or site closures, with cases in French Sony, Caterpillar and 3M factories hitting the headlines. Faced with this phenomenon, which so far has only happened in France, French people are divided on the subject.

According to a survey published in Tuesday's 'Le Parisien', 50% of people surveyed judge this method “not acceptable”, but 45% think that it is. Amongst those who judge bossnappings “acceptable”, 56% are factory workers but 40% are executives or self-employed.

It is also worth noting that French people's opinion on this subject transcends political allegiances. People describing themselves as left-wing are divided on the subject. Forty-eight percent of them defend this method and just as many are opposed to it. But a majority of right-wing sympathisers are opposed to it (67%).

The survey was carried out on the 1st and 2nd of April, with 1,012 people aged over 18 being asked their opinion.

Meanwhile, another survey to be published in the glossy magazine 'Paris Match' on Thursday, reveals that 30% of French people approve of bossnappings and 63% understand them, without going as far as to approve of them. Only 7% strongly condemn them. This second survey, conducted on the 2nd and 3rd of April, saw 1,010 people aged over 18 asked for their opinion.