More than six months before the presidential election, employees and the unemployed were asked to mobilize in various parts of France on Tuesday following the appeal of the union, specifically asking for wage increases and discussing unemployment insurance or pension issues.
general mobilization. Employees and the unemployed were called to strikes and demonstrations across France on Tuesday, October 5, demanding “urgent answers”, especially on wage issues, and placing social issues at the center of the debate until the presidency just passed six moon.
“We now need urgent answers (…) when there are people on the street, this is important,” CGT Secretary-General Philippe Martinez said on LCI on Monday. He pleaded that social mobilization is also necessary, “so that social issues (…) will be more prominent in the campaign.”
According to Céline Verzeletti, secretary of the CGT Confederation, there are plans to set up about 200 meeting points across France. “This is the first sign of our benefit,” she congratulated herself.
Thousands expected
However, strike promises have received little attention in terms of transportation. SNCF provides “normal” transportation for TGV and “almost normal” transportation for TER, except for the “interruption” in Normandy.
According to a spokesperson, on RATP, “traffic on the subway, RER (A and B) and tram networks will be normal,” but the T3a tram will be severely disrupted. He added that bus traffic will be “slightly interrupted” “.
Negotiations with the province are difficult in Paris. The parade will depart from Place de la République at 2 pm in the direction of the Opera and is planned to disperse at the corner of rue La Fayette and rue de la Chaussée d’Antin. “Thousands of people are expected,” a police source said.
CGT, FO, Solidaires, FSU unions and youth organizations Fidl, MNL, Unef and UNL called for this inter-professional day of strikes and demonstrations on August 30.
They confirmed in a joint text on Monday that “there is an urgent need to re-adjust the classification grid of professional departments and raise the minimum wage, the civil service system, pensions, social minimum standards and study grants.”
At a press conference on Monday, five of the nine unions representing the public service gathered at the CGT headquarters in Montreuil to focus on the issue of wages. “We can no longer spend six months thinking about the salaries emergencies in public services and work,” said Gaëlle Martinez, chief representative of the Soliaires Civil Service.
Oppose reform
Inflation (according to INSEE’s provisional estimate on Thursday, a year-on-year increase of 2.1% in September) and CAC 40’s performance in the first half of the year was better than in 2019. The issue of returning to the top of the list emphasized Céline Verzeletti.
Opponents of unemployment insurance reform will expand the ranks of demonstrators, which will take effect on Friday, resulting in a reduction in benefits for the “permitted” unemployed, linking short-term contracts with periods of unemployment.
All unions are expected to appeal the reforms this week, including the first union, CFDT, which has repeatedly condemned the reforms but will not join the protesters on Tuesday.
Another issue that requires vigilance is the pension issue, which continues to linger after the end of Emmanuel Macron’s term and will become an important theme of the presidential campaign.
Therefore, former prime minister Édouard Philippe pleaded in an interview with Challenges published on Thursday to “postpone the starting age to 65, 66 or 67”.
“On October 5th, it is in our interest to send a strong signal because I fear that the bid will be too high during the election,” Force Ouvrière General Secretary Yves Veyrier responded on Friday.
The issue of health certificates will also become one of the slogans. Even though CGT did not call for marching with opponents during Saturday’s demonstrations, it was hostile to this instrument and mandatory vaccination, “liberal measures that undermine workers’ protection and rights,” Céline Verzeletti accused.
Agence France-Presse