Smooth in the street and facing the microphones, the founder of BUFF, organizer of the demonstrations, can send shivers down your spine on Facebook.
Less than four years ago, Sarkis Simonjan reached the status, very influential on the masses, of martyr hero. The puny David had just tackled a famous Goliath. The man abused an archetype of ultra-liberalism, profitable to the detriment of the working conditions of the staff of which he was a part, as a steward. And he did it in a thunderous way, in the press, proclaiming his salary, 1,000 euros received from Ryanair, and other deviations from labor legislation. A configuration which, according to him, allowed the company to massacre all competition with its tickets at 11 euros.
Soon after, he was fired. And when Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary claimed his job was at stake, Simonjan sued one of Europe’s most powerful men. The chivalrous-looking man, an avenger not even masked, was then defended by the media and invited to conferences, at the University of Mons for example. It is then much more than frequentable, it is desirable.
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