Should this be seen as a sign of a possible way out of the crisis? The day after the presentation of Elisabeth Borne’s roadmap, which, in the words of the Prime Minister, constitutes “a hand extended to all those of goodwill”, the general secretary of the CGT, Sophie Binet, laid down her conditions for a resumption of dialogue in the coming weeks. “If it is to talk about an immediate salary increase, it is a proposal that we will examine”, replied the union official on RTL Thursday morning, recalling that the decision to respond favorably to an invitation from the executive would be “taken in inter-union”.
Sophie Binet regretted, however, that the government put on the agenda for the coming weeks “dividing subjects”, citing pell-mell the “stigmatization of the unemployed”, “the reform of the vocational high school fought by teachers and students” or even “the employment of seniors when we have a reform that is applied in an extremely violent way”. “It is with this type of subject that we reach out,” decided the general secretary of the CGT, who does not seem to be betting on a resumption of dialogue in the days to come.
The central Montreuil does not budge on its slogan of withdrawal of the reform, despite a semblance of openness on the increase in wages. “Without withdrawing this reform, there is a context of very strong mistrust vis-à-vis the executive (…) and the page will be complicated to turn. What is needed is that we can withdraw this reform to find serenity and then talk about the real subjects, “said Sophie Binet. All hopes now turn to a bill tabled by the Liot parliamentary group with the aim of repealing the pension reform. The text will be debated in the National Assembly on June 8.
The union forces also expect a lot from the demonstrations on May 1, on the occasion of the traditional Labor Day. “The mobilization of May 1 will be unprecedented and exceptional”, wants to believe Sophie Binet. The CGT insisted that “it will be family, popular, festive” and that “the safety of the demonstrators is always ensured in the union processions”. A counter-fire after the publication on Wednesday of a note from territorial intelligence anticipating a “historic” and “vengeful” May 1st with its share of “elements at risk”. Sophie Binet harshly judged this note which, according to her, is part of a “classic strategy of demobilization to scare”. Between 80,000 and 100,000 demonstrators are expected in the capital alone.
