The defense of civil servants’ purchasing power, everyone was there for that. Whether they were teachers – the most represented –, customs officers, firefighters, students, PTT staff, personnel from the General Council or hospitals. Some local politicians were also spotted: notably Ladislas Polski (MRC) and Pierre Bernasconi, regional councilor, who led a delegation of communist elected officials from the region. These protesters were appropriately represented by a multitude of unions and left-wing political parties: PC, LCR, FO, Sud, CFPT, Unsa (autonomous), and various branches of the CGT.
“Today, we are here for a united demonstration. Our common claim is the defense of purchasing power. Afterwards, we also have specific demands to assert.” said André Goretti, representative of the firefighters. All the demonstrators are somewhat in this situation. The defense of purchasing power is just a starting point; other ideas follow. Purchasing power, precisely, is best described by Delphine Girard, a nurse at Archet and member of the CGT, “In hospitals, we experience this issue both as employees and as professionals. Due to the new medical co-payments, some of our patients have gone on a care strike. If the purchasing power of the French increased, it would allow better access to healthcare for everyone.”
Hospitals, education: everywhere, there’s a demand for hiring
On the employee side, the situation is also tense: “In PACA, we are facing a shortage of doctors. Furthermore, 17,000 paramedical staff are going to retire in the coming years. And we have the means to train only 6,500 people. Positions are currently frozen, and we know that they will be eliminated in the future.” The issue of unpaid overtime is also very present: “It helps avoid permanent hiring. Moreover, the state will not be able to pay for all our overtime.”
Michel Chevallier, vice-president of the FCPE – a parents’ association – also mentions this understaffing problem, this time in education: “11,000 positions are to be cut soon in the national education system. We are worried for our children: they already have 35 per class in tenth grade. We fear that this number will increase even more.” Richard Gies, head of SNES – the majority union in middle and high schools -, supports these statements: “For the next school year, 240 teaching positions will be injected as overtime in the Alpes-Maritimes – that’s 3,500 positions at the national level. It’s the absurd side of the slogan ‘work more to earn more.’ At SNES, we demand that young teachers be hired to perform these hours of work.”
Increase staffing in the public sector, abolish medical co-payments, achieve better wage recognition: the protesters had many proposals to make to the government; like the commission led by Jacques Attali. Will they be heard?
