In 1967, Fred Lip sold 33% of the company to the Swiss firm Ébauches SA, part of the ASUAG, which later became the Swatch Group.
[3] On 12, during an extraordinary meeting of the Works council, workers discovered plans for 480 layoffs (“480 to go”) and a strategy to dismantle the mechanical division while retaining only the watchmaking sector.
[4] The strike, led by CFDT member Charles Piaget and supported by Jean Raguenès, gained national prominence.
[4] The workers began producing watches under their control to ensure “survival wages,” popularizing the slogan: "It’s possible: we make them, we sell them, we get paid.
[7] Political figures, including Michel Rocard, and leftist groups such as the Ligue communiste révolutionnaire and the Gauche prolétarienne, demonstrated solidarity with the workers.