“Where is Pierrot? Everyone is waiting for it! “On the Old Port of Marseille, everything is ready for the tenth day of mobilization against the pension reform. The sound is on. Beers and sodas are carefully stored in the blue Enedis truck, behind the ironing board that serves as a counter. The banner of the CGT Energie is unrolled, the activists behind, well aligned. But it is unthinkable for these demonstrators to leave without Pierrot. In the distance, finally, we see him, dressed, as usual, in this fluorescent green cap which means that no one can miss him. On the way, he blows kisses, once, twice, many times, because everyone knows him.
The time for preparation comes. Pierrot climbs into the blue truck and warms up. After stretching, the union activist mimes a boxing fight against an imaginary enemy. A last sip of a beverage whose content is still unknown, and Pierrot throws himself into the arena. The Old Port takes on the air of a ring, a social conflict version.
When Pierrot appears and comes to greet the crowd, the speakers spit out the martial “Eyes of the Tiger” at the top of their lungs. The Rocky of the day claps his hands, to the cheers of protesters who chant his name. A comrade massages his shoulders. Pierrot takes a last breath, hops, then climbs the ladder to grab the microphone, on the roof of the blue Enedis truck. That’s it, the demonstration can begin.
The mascot
For nearly thirty years, Pierrot has been a demo ambiencer at the CGT in Marseille. “It’s our mascot, claims Nicolas Davan, general secretary of the CGT Energie Provence. I’ve known him forever! He’s the loudest of us, and he’s got real charisma. With his microphone, Pierrot has experienced it all. His real name is Pierre Torcol, “because I twist collars”, laughs the person concerned, behind his short white beard. Pierrot remembers that day when a certain Martine, a former union executive, asked him to harangue the crowds who were marching, there too, against a pension reform. It was in 1995. And it was the first time in a long series for the trade unionist. “I asked him what to say, I didn’t know what to do! »
We can say that thirty years later, the lack of inspiration is not really topical for Pierrot. Already, because his slogans and other messages addressed with a not insignificant volume, he has carefully prepared them and noted them down on sheets, after learning about the news of recent days. On the menu this Tuesday, in bulk: the police system, a sign according to him of government feverishness, the mobilization of women, or even the Alexis Kohler affair. “I talk like people, and I talk about what I hear on the street,” he says.
Union animator
Above all, said Martine had certainly detected the potential of this slightly unusual Enedis agent, employee of the Works Council, who spent his Bafa within the framework of this company to animate the holiday centers for Enedis employees. “Pierrot, in fact, is a trade union leader, sums up Clément, a young activist from the CGT Energie Provence, at his side. It is due to our organization. It does not exist anywhere else and it gives this kind of fanatics! We’re not going to lie to each other, processions are almost mortuary. There is no atmosphere. With him, it’s fire! »
At regular intervals, the fanatic launches clappings and “To arms” taken up in chorus by demonstrators all smiles, giving the processions a festive air. “Go ahead, DJ, turn on the music! shouts Pierrot. The speakers spit out the essential playlist, with traditional “sounds of protests”, but also and above all more current hits, and typically Marseilles, such as the unbeatable “Organized band” or the “Tié la famille” by Bengous. After taking a sip of a liquid too yellow to be water, Pierrot plays the “Air Guitar” and throws off his T-shirt like a rock star. “Come on, make me fart, fireworks! The smoke bombs and firecrackers multiply, and Pierrot sways.
“With him, we have fun”
Arrived in front of the Mucem, the trade unionist leaves his perch to dance and toast with the crowd. Everyone wants their selfie with the phenomenon of Marseille demonstrations. “We have fans,” laughs Clément. A group of students run after him. “He’s a star, he puts on a crazy atmosphere! explains Ewan. “He is in too good a mood and he has great slogans”, abounds his friend Zoé. And they are obviously not the only ones to think the same. Although at the tail of the procession, a compact crowd, made up of young demonstrators, marched behind the blue Enedis truck. “With him, we have a blast,” smiles Océane.
Because with his very particular personality and his outspokenness, Pierrot brings people together, well beyond the CGT Energie Provence. “I’m a teacher, and I should be with them,” says Lisa. But I prefer to parade behind the blue truck. I love this character. He’s a showman. “And above all, you can write it: Pierrot, he talks about what we each experience, unlike Macron, abounds Gilles, who works at Arcelor Mittal. He knows what it’s like to live on a small salary, to have no purchasing power. And he is there, in the street, to show that one can be worthy. »