STRIKE 7 FEBRUARY. For the third day of mobilization against the pension reform, many sectors are on strike this Tuesday, February 7, such as transport or energy, but the movement seems less strong than during previous strikes.
The February 7 strike is well underway. Several sectors are mobilizing for the third day of interprofessional strike against the pension reform. But it is clear that in companies the strike movements are losing intensity, even in transport, where the unions have reassembled there are 25% of strikers on Tuesday according to the intersyndicale against the 35% announced earlier by SUD-Rail is equivalent to the mobilization of January 31. Same observation in schools where only 14.17% of teachers are on strike according to the Ministry of National Education (14.60% in primary and 13.75% in secondary). A figure to be related to the holidays which have started in the eight academies of zone A.
The strike movement of February 7 remains more intense in the energy sectors. The TotalEnergie refineries which have stopped all fuel deliveries have 75 to 100% of strikers according to the CGT, against 56% according to management. On the side of EDF and nuclear power plants 30.3% of employees walked off the job according to data from the energy company, an honorable participation rate but well below the 40% of strikers recorded on January 31.
If the strike of January 7 shows less force than the previous social movements – the financial reasons are surely not foreign to this drop in intensity, the strikers depriving themselves of a day’s wages for each mobilization – the unions hope to see the French take to the streets to protest against the pension reform.
All of the SCNF’s trade union organizations (CGT, Unsa, SUD-Rail and CFDT) called for a strike against the pension reform on 7 February. But the unit wavers concerning the renewal of the movement on February 8, if the CGT and SUD-Rail are for they are not followed by Unsa and the CFDT. The strike of February 7 falls during the school holidays of zone A and risks disrupting certain routes. SNCF has warned that train traffic (TGV INOUI, INTERCITES, TER, OUIGO, Transilien, TGV to Europe) is “severely disrupted”.
The previous strikes of January 19 and 31 accounted for 46% and 36.5% of striking railway workers respectively.
The RATP inter-union called for a strike on February 7 and 11. In a communicated common, the CGT, FO, CFE-CGC and Unsa called for mobilization to say “no to the reform”, because the special pension scheme for RATP agents is heavily threatened by it. The RATP has planned “very disrupted” traffic but with a less significant impact compared to previous mobilizations.
In other cities the transport network is also slowed down. In Bordeaux traffic is “normal” with the exception of a adjustment frequencies on two lines including Tram C with a frequency of 7 min 30 (15 min on the branches) and a wait of 2 min from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the lianes 1 buses. In Rennes, lines A and B of the metro do not are not affected, however some bus departures are deleted. In Marseille, the RTM has also planned slowdowns in transport, giving traffic in retail, line by line. In Paris, the RATP has announced measures to cushion these disturbances, including carpooling offered to Ile-de-France residents. Finally in Nice, to counter the big disturbances to come on the Lignes d’Azur network, in particular on the bus and tram lines, the town hall of the city has provided that parking will be free on the streets on February 7.
After calling for a 72-hour strike in the refineries, the CGT finally opted for a 48-hour mobilization on February 7 and 8. Originally, the CGT had planned to stop production in the refineries during these strike days. But she preferred to ”test [grèves] renewable” in order to “know if the employees are ready” for such a stop, indicated to theAFP Thierry Defresne, CGT secretary of the TotalEnergies Europe committee. On February 7 and 8, “what we are going to offer them for 48 hours is ‘nothing comes in, nothing comes out’, as usual”, specified Thierry Defresne, adding that “the only impact on the work tool, there will be reductions in production flow but not a stoppage”.
The FNME-CGT (National Federation of Mines and Energy-CGT) also called for a two-day strike on February 7 and 8 in companies in the electricity and gas industries. The union announced cuts in production but did not comment on the continuation of the “Robin Hood” operation initiated during previous strikes (free distribution of electricity to hospitals, schools and HLM housing). Fabrice Coudour, boss of the FNME-CGT announced a “high rate of strikers” on Tuesday. The strike movement had been less followed on January 31 than during the first day of mobilization at EDF, with 40.3% of strikers against 44.5% on January 19.
Although zone A is on vacation on February 7, the primary school union, the Snuipp-FSU has called for an “amplification” of the protest movement. “The inter-union calls on the entire population to mobilize through strikes and even more massive demonstrations on Tuesday February 7 and then Saturday February 11 to say no to this reform” specifies the communicated of the union. The Snuipp-FSU recommends “multiplying actions, initiatives, meetings or general assemblies throughout the territory, in companies and services, in places of study, including through strikes”. Primary school teachers (nursery and primary) have the obligation to notify pupils and families at least 48 hours in advance of their participation in the strike movement. Colleges and high schools do not have the obligation to declare themselves.
The Union Syndicale de l’Aviation Civile-CGT, the leading union in civil aviation, said in a communicated that she would join the protest movement. “The Usac-CGT demands the maintenance of the current conditions of retirement for all the agents of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC)”, explained the union, which called “all the staff of the DGAC and the National School of Civil Aviation to go on massive strike and participate in the demonstrations” this Tuesday, February 7. The DGAC “has asked the airlines to reduce their flight program by 20% for the day of Tuesday February 7 at Paris-Orly airport” warned the union in a press release, thus one in five planes would be canceled.
The CGT Ports and Docks Federation is also calling for a 48-hour strike on Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 February. Tuesday January 31, the movement had been particularly followed, in particular in Le Havre where the CGT had identified 100% among the dockers of the port of the city.
The two main ski lift unions, CGT and FO, filed an unlimited strike notice which began on January 31. Tuesday, February 7, this strike of seasonal skiers is likely to affect holidaymakers above all. According BFM TV, a strike is planned “about 1:30 am in all ski resorts, and this, during school holidays”. Some shops will be closed and the ski lifts will not operate during this time. The Minister of Tourism, Olivia Grégoire, called for “respect for the economic players in the mountains who are fighting like lions to continue to attract tourists and develop their offers” and “for respect for tourists’ holidays”, reported TF1.