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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Batignolles factory, located on Rue du Ranzay in the Nantes Erdre district, was built in 1917 by the Goüin family for their subsidiary Batignolles-Châtillon, specialized in the manufacture of locomotives. Designed by engineer Eugene Freyssinet, pioneer of reinforced concrete, it included ten spacious naves to accommodate thousands of workers. The factory initially produced Pacific locomotives, before diversifying its production in the 1950s (tank towers, torpedo tubes, printing rotary). Workers' towns (Ranzay, Baratte, Halvêque) were built east of Nantes, offering housing differentiated according to the statutes: stone houses for executives, wooden pavilions for workers, and collective buildings or wagons for foreign workers (Polish, German, Italian, etc.).

A symbol of social struggles, the factory was a stronghold of the CGT in the 1920s. In 1922 the CGTU organized actions against dismissals, followed by employers' reprisals. In 1936, a one-week occupation resulted in an increase of 5 francs for workers. During the Second World War, 16 resistance fighters were shot, and the factory was bombarded in 1943. After the war, conflicts continued, particularly during the strikes of 1955 with the naval workers of Saint-Nazaire. In May 1968, the factory was again occupied, and in 1973, a movement for wage increases degenerated into office ruin.

Purchased by Schneider in 1963 and then by Creusot-Loire in 1970, the factory declined until the bankruptcy of 1984, resulting in its division into three entities (Rockwell, Batignolles Thermal Technologies, Worthington). Partially classified as historical monuments since 3 August 2022, its architecture mixes reinforced concrete and industrial sheds. Among its protected elements are the Naves A to K, the concrete portals, the documentation centre designed by Roland Bechmann, and a monument to the dead dedicated to the workers. The engineer Charles Friese and architects Mercier & Limousin also participated in his design.

The working-class memory was preserved thanks to Annick Vidal, daughter of a former employee, who saved in the 1990s the church of Saint-Georges-des-Batignolles and his fresco. In 2006, the City of Nantes financed the reconstruction of a typical working-class house, inaugurated as an association hall under the name Maison Annick-Vidal. This place, located boulevard des Batignolles, today perpetuates the memory of the missing cities and the living conditions of the workers, marked by a strong social mix and striking inequalities.

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