Rise in the prices of fuels, energy and many raw materials: inflation hit a record high in 2021 and the trend should continue in 2022. A few weeks before the presidential election, purchasing power has become a major concern for the population. Demonstrations are organized in several cities, Thursday, January 27, to demand wage increases.
Some 170 rallies and processions were planned at the call of the trade union organizations CGT (General Confederation of Labour), FO (Force Ouvrière), FSU (Unitary Trade Union Federation) and Solidaires. The last day of mobilization, October 5, brought together between 85,400 people (according to the Ministry of the Interior) and more than 160,000 people (CGT).
Strikes in transport and education
In Paris, the demonstrators met around noon on Place de la Bastille for a “concert meeting”, during which the union leaders took the floor, before setting off from 2 p.m. towards the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in Bercy. High school students had met at Place de la Nation at 11 a.m.
Left-wing politicians were present, like Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI) or Yannick Jadot (EELV), at a time when the polls put the issue of purchasing power at the top of voters’ concerns.
Beyond the question of wages, the demonstrators met by The world raised disparate claims. Thus, several teachers demanded the resignation of the Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, and the cancellation of high school reform. A group of employees of FNAC Saint-Lazare – on strike since December 8 – were there, for their part, to protest against the drop in staff. Young people were also mobilized to show their opposition to the selection for a master’s degree.
In Marseille, in the morning, several thousand people – 2,500, according to the police headquarters – set off from the Old Port, most waving CGT flags. Dockers, hospital staff, railway workers or retirees were in the procession.
In Lyon, about 1,500 people according to the police also marched in the freezing cold at midday, with messages like: “it is our work that creates wealth”while they were 1,500 according to the police in Rennes, 2,500, according to the unions.
Teachers, already in the streets on January 13 and 20 to protest against the management of the health crisis at school, will be “nearly 20%” to be on strike in the first degree, according to the Snuipp-FSU union, which represents teachers in nursery and elementary schools.
In public transport, the circulation of regional trains will be slightly disrupted, according to the National Society of French Railways (SNCF). In Ile-de-France, one out of three trains will run on the northern line of RER B. On the RER A, C, D and line H of the Transilien, the offer will be three out of four trains.
“High Inflation”
The unions deplore that there has been no “boost” minimum wage during the five-year period, beyond the automatic increases, nor raising the index point for civil servants. They are asking for an increase in the minimum wage and the index point, and more generally in all wages, allowances and retirement pensions, in a context of high inflation (+2.8% over one year in December) and record dividends.
The Minister of Labor, Elisabeth Borne, for her part, declared on CNews on Thursday that the government was “very attentive to purchasing power since the start of the five-year term”. She put forward various measures such as the abolition of the housing tax, or the increase in the activity bonus.
“Let’s stop saying that salary is the enemy of employment”especially since the context is that of a “strong inflation”said Wednesday the secretary general of FO, Yves Veyrier. “There is plenty to choose from”for his part launched the number one of the CGT, Philippe Martinez, on BFM-TV, pointing to the inequalities which “increase”even if “the economy is better”.
And the Prime Minister must receive the social partners for bilateral talks by mid-February, as he has done on several occasions since July 2020, learned Agence France-Presse (AFP) from Matignon. In addition to subjects such as the advancement of the social agenda launched eighteen months ago will be discussed “subjects of concern to the social partners”.
The number one of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, is also in favor of raising wages. “Fortunately there was public power to finance the economy during this period. The employers, they have to understand that now we have to give back a little”he said Thursday on Europe 1. But the first French union will not join forces with the intersyndicale on Thursday, because “the tote does not work”.
The organizers of Thursday’s mobilization will decide Friday morning on the continuation of the movement, to which the UNSA and the CFE-CGC have announced their support. “The trade union arc seems to be widening”rejoiced with AFP Céline Verzeletti, CGT confederal leader.