Several hundred thousand people marched Monday morning throughout France for a 1er may be both “festive” and “combative”, the unions intending to show that they are not giving up the fight against pension reform, even if the strategies could quickly diverge on the continuation of the movement.
“This 1er May is one of the strongest of the social movement”, greeted the general secretary of the CGT union Sophie Binet while his counterpart from the CFDT Laurent Berger boasted “a very large mobilization”.
But if they are beyond a 1er May classic, the first figures seem to show that it will not be the “tidal wave” hoped for by the unions.
According to the police, there were 8,700 demonstrators in Strasbourg (east, 15,000 according to the unions), 7,300 in Lille (north, 15,000), 11,000 in Marseille (south, 130,000), 13,500 in Toulouse (south-west, 100,000) and 14,000 in Clermont-Ferrand (centre, 25,000). The authorities are counting on 500 to 650,000 people throughout the territory, including 80 to 100,000 in Paris.
Air traffic was disrupted with 25 to 33% of flights canceled at the largest French airports, a movement which should continue at Paris-Orly on Tuesday.
In the processions, the demonstrators say they are still determined to obtain the withdrawal of the reform, like Céline Bertoni, 37, professor of economics in Clermont, six days of strike on the clock.
“This workers’ day takes place in union unity and that alone is historic”, rejoiced in the weekly Sunday newspaper the general secretary of the FO union, Frédéric Souillot.
The last united parade with the eight main unions dates back to 2009, in the face of the financial crisis (the CGT group had counted nearly 1.2 million demonstrators, the police 456,000). In 2002 (900,000 to 1.3 million people), the unions also united to “block” Jean-Marie Le Pen, a historical figure of the French far right, qualified in the second round of the presidential election. .
In the French capital, the procession set off at 2 p.m. from Place de la République towards the Nation, with the announced presence of trade unionists from all over the world.
In Athens, a delegation of about ten people from the CGT, invited by the Greek communist union Pame, took part in the procession.
“From Athens to Paris, we have the same problems and we need to coordinate our struggles to take back what has been stolen from us for the past twenty years,” Matthieu Bolle-Reddat told AFP in the Greek capital. CGT.
The French authorities are also expecting 1,000 to 2,000 people “at risk”, according to police sources. 12,000 police and gendarmes will be mobilized, including 5,000 in Paris.
The administrative court of Paris, seized by organizations for the defense of fundamental freedoms and unions of lawyers and magistrates, validated Monday an order of the Paris police headquarters allowing the use of drones by the police.
“Not a gravel between us”
This 1er May, which is 13e day of inter-union mobilization against the pension reform, comes after the validation of the main part of the text by the Constitutional Council and its promulgation in stride.
If in the street as in the polls the anger remains strong, with “casserolades” which accompany the movements of the executive, within the French government some want to believe “that we have spent the most in terms of protest” and that this 1er May “may be the last stand of the interprofessional”.
Emmanuel Macron gave himself on April 17 “100 days of appeasement” and “action” to relaunch his five-year term. Its Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, will send invitations to the unions “next week”, according to her office.
And differences between them begin to point, even if Frédéric Souillot assures that the union of unions “is not weakened, there is not a gravel between us”.
Already, Laurent Berger announced Sunday that the CFDT “would discuss” with the Prime Minister if she was invited, while Sophie Binet recalled that the unions had planned to take the decision “together” Tuesday morning.