The Barnier government faces its first union mobilization on Tuesday, October 1. The CGT, Solidaires and FSU, joined by youth organizations, are calling for strikes and demonstrations to demand the repeal of the pension reform and an increase in wages.
“It’s the return match against pension reform,” CGT number one Sophie Binet assured this week. “We can obtain its repeal, this is what Michel Barnier’s declaration shows, the balance of power is on our side,” she judged at Franceinfo. The CGT, the second union in France, had called at the end of August to join the mobilization initiated by the inter-union of retirees to demand in particular “the repeal of the pension reform, the increase in salaries and pensions, equality between women and men, the financing of our public services.
During his first television interview a week ago, the Prime Minister said he was ready to “improve” the very controversial reform which raised the retirement age to 64.
The Parisian demonstration, which will start from Place Denfert-Rochereau at 2 p.m. towards the Bastille, was initially scheduled to coincide with the presentation of the budget to the Assembly, which was ultimately postponed. It will take place just before the Prime Minister’s general policy speech, at 3 p.m., which will set the course for his policy while many social issues (unemployment insurance, employment of seniors, in particular) remain unresolved.
“Normal” traffic for TGVs
This first mobilization of the start of the school year could, however, prove to be quite weak, a union source told AFP on condition of anonymity, referring to “feedback from the field (which) is not good”. On Sunday, the CGT identified 179 gathering places (for comparison, the union had more than 200 on May 1 and 250 during the last day of mobilization against pension reform in June). CGT and Sud Rail (Solidaires) call on railway workers to strike. The SNCF announced on Sunday “normal” traffic for TGVs and slight disruptions for certain regional and Intercity trains.
In an interview published Sunday evening by The ParisianSophie Binet estimated that there was “enormous democratic and social anger in the country, with the feeling of having been cheated in the last elections”. “Worried” after her meeting with Michel Barnier, the union leader told the press on Wednesday “that she had no answer on social questions”.
Solidaires (non-representative) also joins the processions in “concrete reaction to the result of the European and legislative elections”. To combat the far right, we must respond to “a social anger that has persisted for years,” argues co-delegate Murielle Guilbert. Several youth organizations, including the Student Union, Unef, Fidl and the Union Syndicale Lycéenne will also be mobilized.
The fact remains that the union front is no longer united this time: unlike the mobilization for purchasing power last year or the united battle against pension reform, the CFDT, FO, the CGE-CGC, the CFTC and Unsa refused to join the mobilization on Tuesday. “It is not the habit of the CFDT to say ‘because there is a return to school, there is a mobilization'”, argued the number 2 of the organization, Yvan Ricordeau. “Protesting on the day when the Prime Minister makes his general policy speech is still a little complicated,” CFTC leader Cyril Chabanier judged Monday evening on France Info. “We will listen (…) and if we see that things are not going in the right direction, we do not rule out being able to mobilize,” he warned.