The Minister Delegate in charge of Local Authorities, Dominique Faure, is “hopeful” to reach an agreement with the representatives of municipal police officers, partly on strike to obtain better pay conditions, she said on Monday. in a written statement to AFP.
“Discussions are underway with the municipal police union organizations, I wanted to relaunch them after several years of pause and I have been leading them for several months, have received them five times, and I am hopeful that we will arrive at a agreement that suits everyone,” said Dominique Faure.
Strike and rally
A collective of “angry municipal police officers”, including several unions and associations, had called on officers to strike on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve as well as on January 1st. He has also already announced rallies in front of regional prefectures on February 3.
The ministry refused to give figures for participation in the strike, arguing that each municipal police force “is linked to its town hall” and that precise reporting is difficult.
Movement followed by the organizers
Contacted by AFP, David Quevilly, vice-president of the National Federation of Municipal Police Officers of France (FNPMF, created in March), affirmed that the strike of his colleagues in the country had been followed by 65% for the night of December 24 to 25. He says he expects a higher mobilization on the evening of December 31, of the order, according to him, of 75 to 80%.
The president of the National Union of Public Security, Stéphane Poupeau, spoke to AFP of “a strike followed (Sunday) by around 60% throughout the territory”. In a press release, the Territorial Civil Service Federation (FFPT)-CFTC had called for “a rapid consultation of the organizations representing the profession” and called for a strike, writing: “we cannot support a further extension of the skills of municipal police officers whose social situation, in terms of remuneration and pension plan, is far below our national counterparts, police officers and gendarmes.”
Negotiations in progress
In his statement, Dominique Faure welcomes “the mobilization of the municipal police forces on a daily basis, and in particular during the holidays to ensure the safety of all”. She recalled that the government had just published two decrees, “with the approval of all the unions, establishing an index increase”. She also considered “that the non-participation of the main unions in this mobilization shows that social dialogue is progressing and is on the right track”.
In a press release, the FO-Municipal Police union, which had not called for a strike, welcomed the negotiations initiated with the ministry: “Discussions are open and strong and concrete measures are currently on the table”, a- he writes, referring to “a substantial and lasting salary increase”.
Territorial civil servants recruited through competition by mayors, there are nearly 26,000 municipal police officers across the entire territory. Their primary mission is to ensure the proper execution of the mayor’s police orders (public health, surveillance of buildings, security of residents and property, etc.).