The CGT launched a call for a general mobilization “for employment and industry” this Thursday, December 12 and several sectors plan to mobilize, including schools, transport and factories.
It’s a hectic month of December between the continuing political crisis and the successive strikes. While the censorship of Michel Barnier’s government and the appointment of a Prime Minister have brought the political world to a near standstill, unions from different sectors continue to express their anger during various mobilizations. While social movements were established in November, they have experienced a resurgence in recent days and the CGT is launching a call for strike and mobilization “for employment and industry” this Thursday, December 12, 2024.
With this national mobilization the CGT wishes to warn against the multiplication of social plans observed since the start of the school year: “300 layoff plans” have been registered since September according to the union. at least 119 mobilizations are planned across 76 departments – half consisting of rallies and demonstrations on public roads and in front of prefectures and other institutions, the other half planning struggle actions on work sites – according to the last CGT statement. And the mobilizations should concern many sectors: the chemical industry, the mining and energy sector, railway workers and transport, the public service, the health sector and even commerce according to the union census.
The mobilizations could last for the next few weeks, or even resume next year. If Sophie Binet’s CGT is calling for a strike now, branches of the Force Ouvrière union have announced that they are suspending calls for strikes on December 10, 11 and 12, “pending guidance from the new government.” and have already filed a strike notice from January 1 to March 31, 2025.
A strike followed in schools on December 12?
The civil service mobilized on December 5, but it was mainly the National Education sector which participated in the strike. With 200,000 people gathered in 160 processions in France according to the CGT and 130,000 according to the authorities, 18.61% of the 2.5 million civil service agents went on strike according to the Ministry of Civil Service. The strikers were mainly from National Education (at least 31%). Some education unions have called for an act 2 of the mobilization to be organized this Thursday, December 12. The FSU, the CGT Educ’action and SUD Éducation thus called for new mobilization in a joint press release : “Salaries, working conditions, budget, contempt, that’s enough! We will not be able to accept a new austerity budget which would take up the contested measures, for example, the job cuts or the anti-civil servant measures of the resigning minister Guillaume Kasbarian “.
A bigger strike on December 12 than December 11 at the SNCF?
At the SNCF, the unions had long planned to begin an indefinite strike, renewable for 24-hour periods, from December 11 to oppose the dismantling of the freight service and the introduction of competition for certain regional lines. But the movement turns out to be less important than announced after the withdrawals of the Unsa-Ferroviaire and CFDT-Cheminots unions who gave up the mobilization after the signing of an agreement with management concerning the future of freight and TER railway workers. transferred to subsidiaries by January 1. But the CGT-Cheminots and SUD-Rail have indeed gone on strike and wish to continue the movement.
More disruptions are announced for the day of Thursday, December 12, but they remain few in number: the SNCF foresees “normal traffic” on the TGV lines and some changes on the regional lines “with a national average of eight trains out of ten” . It is in Ile-de-France that the disruptions will be more numerous, but they will only target a few lines such as the RER C, B and D, and the Transilien H, N, V and R.
The mobilizations at the SNCF are poorly attended at the end of the year. Already Thursday, November 21, the strike movement had little impact with only one in four railway workers being mobilized according to the CGT. “The French don’t want this strike at Christmas, we understand them, and above all there are no reasons,” also declared Jean-Pierre Farandou, CEO of SNCF, on RTL. “I am quite doubtful about this social movement, especially since there are no other possible hypotheses” than this dismantling, announced the Minister for Transport François Durovray.
Where are the agricultural mobilizations?
Farmers resumed mobilization on December 9 and 10 with actions “around income, around the relationship with the price of our products, particularly in the context of the start of commercial relations, negotiation with distributors” warned the FNSEA . Furthermore, after the signing of the free trade agreement with Mercosur on December 6, farmers fear the arrival of unfair competition, even if the treaty has not yet been ratified. The fall of the government also increased their anger, fearing unfulfilled commitments. In response, they wanted to “toughen their action”. “We are calling to meet all the deputies to demand accountability,” said the secretary general of Young Farmers, Quentin Le Guillous, to AFP. On December 9, farmers targeted the offices of various deputies. Some dumped earth or slurry in front of these buildings. Others positioned themselves on roundabouts, creating filter barriers.