They are targeting Vinci, Eiffage, Spie Batignolles, and GCC as well as eight subcontracting companies at an industrial tribunal in Bobigny.

They were initially undocumented and despite now being regulated it is claimed that they worked without a contract, pay slips, paid holidays, or overtime.

They have denounced the exploitation they claim to have been subjected to and have compared the situation to that of workers at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.

"Everyone knew I had no papers," said one of the workers who are originally from Mali or the Democratic Republic of Congo, as reported by France Info. 

"And it is Spie Batignolles who orders on the site.

"One day my knee hurt.

"I asked my boss if I could take a day or two off.

"He told me, 'If you're not there on Monday, you'll take your things.'

"I had to keep working despite the suffering.

"France is no better than Qatar."

The workers claim that they had to buy their own protective equipment and served on various sites including that of the Olympic Village. 

It is located seven kilometres north of Paris' city centre and overlaps the communes of Saint-Denis, Ile Saint-Denis, and Saint-Ouen.

The plaintiffs' representatives at the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) have disputed this and claimed "illegal" practice by the employers.

"We were promised exemplary Olympic construction sites," said CGT's labour court counsellor Richard Bloch, as reported by France Info.

"In the end, it is worse than elsewhere, because there is a political imperative: the sites must be delivered on time. 

"So companies implement all legal or illegal means to deliver on time."

CGT has estimated that there are approximately 100 workers in a similar situation.

A hearing has been set for early October and should be settled within one month, according to the Labour Code.