The term gained wide usage in the media following a series of bossnapping incidents in the spring of 2009 in France where workers used the tactic in the context of widespread labor unrest resulting from the late 2000s recession.
[3] In July 2009, workers of Azur Chimie (previously Arkéma)[4] plant located in Port Le Bouc took headquarters and majority shareholders as hostages to weigh in the negotiations regarding the layoff of half of the workforce.
[7] Further bossnappings took place in a worksite of Hewlett-Packard in France and a lock-in of managers occurred at market research firm Synovate in Auckland, New Zealand as a part of a labor dispute during a contract renegotiation there.
[2][9] In April 2009, in response to the ongoing series of bossnapping incidents, French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged to end the practice, saying, "We are a nation of laws.
However, public opinion polls in France at the time showed significant support for those using the strategy, a majority who disapproved of the tactic but sympathized with those practicing it, and only a small minority who completely opposed it.