special Envoy to Sunderland (England)
Each evening of the election, the city of Sunderland, in the north-east of England, finds himself in the spotlight. It is hard to be one of the first to strip and announce its results. At the beginning of the night of June 23, 2016, it creates a shock therapy: 61 % of its inhabitants have voted to leave the european Union. Sunderland and its 275,000 inhabitants become a poster child of the Brexit. Almost three years later, they are likely to pay the price.
Nissan, which has the largest automobile factory in the country, announced a week ago forgo to produce its future model X-Trail, citing, inter alia, “the continuing uncertainty around the future Uk relationship with the EU”. A cold shower for the 7000 local employees of the firm and 35,000 in its partners. “At Sunderland, everyone knows someone who works at Nissan. These are sometimes entire families, generations of employees,” says Gavin Foster, a …
