If his election to succeed Philippe Martinez is perceived positively for the future of the inter-union, it is much less so for the executive.
In the hall of its 53rd congress, in Cournon d’Auvergne (Puy-de-Dôme), Friday March 31, the CGT displays a united front. At the podium, the new general secretary of the central trade union, Sophie Binet, has a message for Emmanuel Macron, in full protest against the pension reform. “We will not give up, starting with our demand to withdraw from this reform”, warns the one who was elected to general surprise, a little earlier in the day. Until then Secretary General of the Federation of Executives (Ugict), this 41-year-old senior education adviser continues, to applause: “IThere will be no truce, no suspension, no mediation. We will not resume work until this reform is withdrawn.”
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After a stormy congress week, Sophie Binet, the first woman to lead the CGT, will have the daunting task of putting the pieces of a deeply divided union back together. “It is a choice of compromise, which makes it possible to resolve the internal tensions in the organization, or at least the opposition to the outgoing management of Philippe Martinez”explains to franceinfo Pierre Rouxel, lecturer in political science and specialist in trade unionism. Committed to environmental issues and co-author of the book Feminist, the CGT? Women, their work and trade union action (Editions de l’Atelier, 2019), she appears less radical than Olivier Mateu or Céline Verzeletti, whose names were mentioned to take the head of the CGT.
“Nobody had any interest in breaking the inter-union”
With Sophie Binet, the future of the inter-union seems to be part of continuity. “The fact that the voice of compromise has triumphed makes any splitting of the inter-union unlikely in the short term”thus analyzes Pierre Rouxel. “No one had an interest in breaking it, including the fiercest opponents of Philippe Martinez’s line”abounds Maxime Quijoux, sociologist at the CNRS and the CNational Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (Cnam).
“We avoid a fairly strong crisis at the CGT, so we avoid a disaster which could have carried away directly or indirectly the inter-union.”
Maxime Quijoux, sociologist at CNRS and Cnamat franceinfo
His election was hailed by other unions, like the general secretary of Unsa, Laurent Escure. “I mean I’m very happy for her”he wrote on Twitter. Same enthusiasm among political opponents of pension reform. “The dangers were the internal fracture and the weakening of the front against retirement at 64. They are avoided. That’s good news to me.”blows to France Télévisions a deputy from Nupes.
The new boss of the CGT has confirmed that the inter-union will go to Matignon on Wednesday April 5 to meet Elisabeth Borne. “We will go together to demand the withdrawal of this reform in a firm and determined way”, she launched. No more question of mediation or break, as claimed by Laurent Berger, the general secretary of the CFDT, to which Philippe Martinez had seemed to follow suit. “This caused a moment of hesitation in the congress. There, we come back to the withdrawal of the reform, which sends a clear signal internally”decrypts Maxime Quijoux.
The executive “was betting on the divisions of the CGT”
In this context, is the arrival of Sophie Binet good or bad news for the executive? Officially, the majority welcomes his election. “Nobody can wish that the radicalism is essential to the CGT. His appointment is first and foremost good news for social dialogue”assures France Télévisions the Renaissance deputy Marc Ferracci, close to Emmanuel Macron. “We can only rejoice to see a reformist at the head of the CGT”also approves the deputy Horizons Paul Christophe, in charge of pensions for his group. “I find it better to have strong and reformist unions than weak and radical ones. The former can make things happen by setting up a useful balance of power, the latter raise tensions in the country without bringing anything positive”supports for his part Nicolas Turquois, deputy of the MoDem.
In government, the entourage of the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, plays the detachment: “We didn’t look at the different options at all through the prism of what would supposedly suit us or not.” The Prime Minister said on Friday that she did not know Sophie Binet personally and that she was not going “not interpret” what is happening at the CGT, but that it would be “listening”. Sacha Houlie, the Renaissance chairman of the law commission, anticipates “an identical situation” at present.
In reality, the arrival of Sophie Binet is “very bad news for the government”, analyzes Maxime Quijoux. According to him, the executive “was betting on the divisions of the CGT to make the strategy of decay prosper, but there is ultimately no crisis at the central, which keeps the union front united”.
The profile of Sophie Binet is not an asset for the power in place either. “This young woman, who comes from management, refreshes the image of the CGT. She will reflect a different image in public opinion, over which the government will have little control”anticipates the sociologist. “It modernizes the CGTabounds the political scientist Dominique Andolfatto. Elisabeth Borne and Emmanuel Macron will not be able to caricature the CGT as sterile opponents, because the personal history of Sophie Binet is in contradiction with this caricature.