“Young people struggling, the elderly in poverty. We don’t want this kind of society!” The words of one of the songs heard during the gathering on Tuesday morning are telling. Organized mainly as a “rehearsal” for Saturday, June 13, this sort of dress rehearsal remains a union movement. Salaries, economic layoffs, the elimination of tax exemptions for overtime… All these issues have been highlighted. “We are here to continue the movement that started on January 29th. We will be there on June 13th. It will be a Saturday, so there will be few calls for a strike and we hope there will be many people.” Jean-Jacques Mai, the general secretary of FO 06, does not mince words. According to him, “when employees realize the number of quiet economic layoffs made this summer upon returning, the social temperature will seriously increase.” With the project of cutting 34,000 public sector jobs by 2010, the issue is open for debate. Should we let time sort things out? Should we protest as Guadeloupe recently did? Is there an alternative to these two solutions? For now, 850 people – according to police figures – marched yesterday through the streets of Nice. From Place Masséna, through Avenue Jean-Jaurès and Boulevard Risso, the demonstrators waved their banners such as “Bachelot Law, the death of hospitals.” It was under a cloudy sky that union representatives delivered their speeches. While Gérard Ré, a member of the leadership of the CGT departmental union talks about “challenging social achievements won by blood,” François Bouchart, general secretary of CFTC 06, makes himself heard by stating, “It is not man who should serve the economy, but the other way around. The human being is no longer respected. We need to fight today!”.
Executives in the street
A rare event: yesterday, executives also demonstrated alongside other union organizations. “Enough is enough!” Alain Clavel-Morrot, general secretary of the departmental union – French confederation of management CGC – came to express his feelings about the situation in France: “Executives fully support the intersyndical movement. Moreover, it must be understood that the pressure on managerial staff is becoming unacceptable, unbearable. And over the recent years, they have no hope in the development of their careers.” The words are released.
Contentious issues
And the contentious issues are not minor. Regarding Sunday work, the decision is already made by Gérard Ré who believes that “opening stores on Sundays will not mean employees have more money at the end of the month.” As for “work more to earn more”, it is a real deception in the eyes of Jean-Pascal Roblin, CGT union delegate at Crédit Agricole PCA. Finally, a few employees from the CHU came to the demonstration to save the Pediatrics department of the CHU of Nice. It remains to be seen whether this social mélange of a few hundred people will have the expected echoes for June 13.
