Yesterday, nearly 500 entertainment industry temporary workers demonstrated in Nice against Medef, which proposed on February 19 to eliminate their compensation scheme, deemed unfair by the employers’ union.
It was in the utmost calm that Place Garibaldi welcomed several hundred temporary workers yesterday early in the afternoon, who came to demonstrate against Medef’s proposal.
The procession first headed to the Théâtre National de Nice where they held a sit-in followed by the reading of a letter defending their rights. They then moved toward the Opera via Avenue Félix-Faure, still without any incidents.
Seb Ventura, one of the leaders of the procession present in Nice, speaks of a true “aggression by Medef” against “a profession that is not favorable, contrary to what one might think.”
The sound manager continues by explaining that the time spent on preparation, rehearsal, training, or even creation is not counted, and for him, the work time performed is about “three times more important than the accounted work time.”
By mentioning “the importance of preserving these professions,” he reminds us that 3.5% of the national GDP corresponds to culture. In other words, attacking culture also attacks France’s resources.
Thursday the 27th was thus the day of the call to mobilization against this proposal. The demonstrators present in Nice included, among the temporary workers, two municipal election candidates.
Patrick Allemand (PS) and Robert Injey (Front de Gauche) both mentioned “the importance of the weight of culture” and wish “to defend the French cultural exception.”
As a reminder, the employers’ organization wishes, as part of the negotiations for a new unemployment insurance agreement aimed at reducing the deficit, to eliminate specific schemes for technicians, workers, and artists. The culture sector actors are supported by the government and even by Laurence Parisot, former president of Medef.
