A bit of history
Shipbuilding has been a defining feature of La Ciotat’s history since 1835, driven by its geographical location and by Louis Benet, a key figure in the regional industry.
In 1836, his modern shipyards launched their first vessel, the steam-powered Le Phocéen. Following the closure of the Benet shipyard in 1851, the Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes took over the shipyards, ushering in a golden age that lasted until 1916 and attracting illustrious figures such as Napoleon III.
Renamed SPCN in 1920, the company was taken over in 1940 and experienced a post-war boom. Between 1960 and 1982, more than 6,000 workers built world-renowned oil tankers and LNG carriers there. The launches of these giants of the seas, which were true spectacles, sometimes caused huge waves that swept away cars and pedestrians.
But from 1978 onwards, competition from Asia and the crisis in the sector led to the first redundancies. Following the company’s bankruptcy in 1986, industrial action broke out. The Monterrey, the last ship launched in 1987, became a symbol of the struggle.
A collective of workers, the ‘105 diehards’, occupied the site until 1994, securing the conversion of the shipyards under SEMIDEP.
