LIVE – Transport strike: 100,000 demonstrators according to the CGT, 30,400 according to the Ministry of the Interior

MOBILIZATION REPORT

During this day of mobilization, 30,400 people took to the streets, according to the Ministry of the Interior. They were 100,000 according to the CGT. In Paris, the police counted 2,400 demonstrators, and the CGT counted 10,000.

These figures mark a mobilization higher than that of the previous day of action of October 27, but a decline compared to that of October 18, when the ministry had counted 107,000 demonstrators throughout the country and the CGT 300,000.

WEAK NATIONAL MOBILIZATION

The interprofessional mobilization on wages, at the call of the CGT, did not gather the crowds. Few people took to the streets. The police counted a thousand demonstrators in Lyon, 650 in Lille, 300 in Bordeaux. In Paris, they were 10,000 according to the CGT (the police have not yet given figures).

EMPLOYEES MOVE INTO RATP HEADQUARTERS

A hundred RATP employees gathered in front of the company’s headquarters to voice their dissatisfaction. “A metro driver works four weekends out of six, he suffers pollution which is two to three times higher underground than outside, we work staggered, early in the morning, and we live less long in good health than the average French person”, lists Bastien Berthier, secretary of the FO-RATP traction division, which represents 72% of metro drivers. A general increase in wages to cope with inflation is the number one demand, he said to AFP. Same request on the side of the CGT-RATP, which calls for a general increase of 300 euros gross per month. “Today is a big warning shot”, warns Bertrand Hammache, the general secretary of the union. “We hope they will hear it.” The unions were to be received immediately by management, but had little hope of being heard.

DISRUPTIONS IN NICE AND TOULOUSE

If the rest of France seems spared by the strike in transport – only the TER are affected, with nine out of ten trains in circulation on average – Nice and Toulouse are exceptions to the rule. In Nice, none of the three tram lines were operating, while in Toulouse a towing operation delayed some buses.

THE EIFFEL TOWER CLOSED

“Due to a national strike movement, the Eiffel Tower is currently closed,” warned the official account of the Parisian monument. However, the forecourt remains open and accessible free of charge.

BUSES TAKEN BY ASSAULT

To compensate for this “highly disturbed” day in the metros, many users turned to buses. Which end up saturated. This photo was captured this morning at a stop near Saint Lazare station in Paris.

UNSA MOBILIZATION

The general secretary of the UNSA RATP, Arole Lamasse, said he was “ready” to start an indefinite strike next week. “We are prepared for it,” he said on BFM Paris, as the union mobilized in front of the headquarters of the Paris transport authority.

UNDERSTANDING BUT NO APPEAL

The CFE-CGC of the RATP, the executives’ union, says it “understands the demands” behind the social movement but “does not call” for a strike.

“ZERO EMPATHY”

Gabriel Attal accused the strikers of not thinking of the French. “I heard that the watchword of the strike at the RATP was ‘zero metro, zero RER’, I will extend by saying that it is also ‘zero empathy’ for all French people”, launched the Minister Delegate in charge of Public Accounts on BFM. And to “think” of all those French people “who couldn’t go to work, couldn’t get around, couldn’t drop their children off at school”

AND AFTER ?

Beyond this Wednesday’s strike, Clément Beaune acknowledged that the situation was “very complicated” in transport, particularly in Île-de-France and Hauts de France. To solve this problem, the Minister Delegate for Transport called on Jean Castex, who will take over as head of the RATP, to “renew social dialogue” and “massively recruit drivers”. “That’s the answer to avoid, beyond Black Thursday, spending a difficult and dark winter in Ile-de-France transport.”

A “BLACK THURSDAY”?

Invited to LCI, Clément Beaune first had a “thought” for all those “who are struggling today”. Describing a “black or very complicated Thursday” in the Paris region, he was pleased that the situation was “less complicated in the rest of France, with TER and Intercités running at 80% and 90%”.

“I regret this strike situation”, testified all the same the Minister Delegate in charge of Transport on our antenna, wishing that this movement does not continue.

LINE 13 AT THE STOP

The platform for line 13, in Saint-Lazare, stormed this morning. All these users remained on the floor after the RATP declared that no train will pass, while the forecasts announced one train in three.

“SAUTE-MOUTON” PROTESTS, FUSTIGE FO

If Frédéric Souillot has to go alongside the RATP strikers at 9:30 a.m., the Secretary General of FO will not participate in the demonstration which will start at the beginning of the afternoon of République, direction Opéra. The union has indeed decided not to join the CFT for this event, decided recently at the call of the CGT alone. On Wednesday, Frédéric Souillot had indeed castigated the multiplication of “leapfrog” demonstration days, believing that this strategy “not only is it counterproductive, secondly it does little to move things, thirdly it wears out the troops”.

“EXCEPTIONAL” TRAFFIC IN ILE-DE-FRANCE

Many of you have chosen to take the car this morning to avoid taking public transport. Result: traffic is “exceptional” in Île-de-France. A sign that the Ile-de-France residents have turned to the car: there were 334 kilometers of traffic jam in the Paris basin shortly before 8 a.m., compared to 200 in normal times.

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

Even lines that shouldn’t have a problem are saturated. While the RER D was to circulate “normally”, traffic is slowed down this morning on this line which serves a large part of the Île-de-France region. “Due to the social movement on the RER B, the trains make U-turns in Paris Nord and have to change lanes to maneuver”, explains the thread of the RER D on Twitter. “This causes traffic problems, because the trains have to wait for the ‘green light’ until the route in front of them is free.” Plan for longer journey times of up to 15 minutes.

BUSES TAKEN BY ASSAULT

Faced with this “highly disturbed” day in the metros, many users are turning to the buses. Which end up saturated. Testimonials from Gare de Lyon this morning. ↓

“THERE WILL BE NO TRAIN”

Several users tried to take line 13 this morning. In vain. “No need to stay on the platforms, there will be no trains,” announced the RATP at Saint-Lazare station, according to this testimony. The RATP had initially declared that one in three metros would run during rush hour. What make the journey even more complicated for these travelers.

TESTIMONIALS OF A REAL “GALLEY”

At the microphone of LCI, RATP users testify to their “fed up” this morning. As with each strike movement in transport, they encounter a real “galley”. Between the choice of the bus, the automated metro or even the self-service bicycle, they have made their arrangements. So much so that some of them will take more than an hour more on their usual journey to reach their place of work.

REASONS FOR MOBILIZATION

To find out more about the reasons for the social movement this Thursday, find our point on the question here. ↓

REASONS FOR MOBILIZATION

The Confederal Secretary of the CGT explains the reasons behind this interprofessional strike. “We are determined to win on essential demands in the period: the increase in the Smic, the indexation of salaries to the cost of living, the increase in the index point for all civil servants”, listed Céline Verzeletti at the microphone of Franceinfo. But in addition to these demands specific to their sector, there are other broader demands. Thus, the CGT also wants to “stop Emmanuel Macron’s reform” on pensions “which would consist of making the French work longer”, she explained.

WE MAKE THE POINT

To know the details of the disturbances at the RATP line by line, it’s here ↓

WHAT MOBILIZATION IN OTHER SECTORS?

If almost no metro will run in Paris, the other sectors should

experience a more modest mobilization. Thus, at the SNCF, where the movement is supported by the only CGT-Cheminots, looks much less followed. Traffic will be normal on the TGVs and slightly disrupted on the Intercités, on the eve of a long weekend.

On the TER lines, nine out of ten trains will run on average and, in Ile-de-France, some disruptions are to be expected on certain Transilien lines.

“STRONGLY DISTURBED” TRAFFIC AT RATP

We remind Ile-de-France residents and those who would like to travel to the capital that the RATP is planning a “highly disrupted” day on its RER and metro networks. It will be “disturbed” on the bus and tram networks. The Parisian transport authority invites “all travelers who have the possibility to favor teleworking or to postpone their trips on the network”.

Hello, welcome to this live dedicated to the strike day of this Thursday, November 10. While many disruptions are expected, especially at the RATP, we start by taking stock of the traffic disruptions.