Firefighters, or “pumpers,” march in Paris on Thursday Photo: Dimitar Dicloff/AFP
Emmanuel Macron is accused of he gave unions a «gold medal for blackmail» after guaranteeing payments several times to prevent a strike during the Olympics.
With the Paris Games just two months away, unions represent almost every sector of the economy. French civil services have entered their own race to see who can get the most money from the treasury.
The sheer number of errors has forced Pierre Moscovici, France's state auditor, to admit he no longer knows how much the Olympic Games will cost. This amount could be between €3 billion and €5 billion (£2.6 billion to £3.4 billion).
French commentators have taken to using the term «open bar» as an Anglicism meaning «comprehensive access». , with everyone from air traffic controllers to garbage men jumping on board in search of bonuses, deaf to plaintive calls for a patriotic Olympic «truce».
The police alone won a €500 million (pounds sterling) handout. 340 million) ahead of the event, which begins on July 26 and runs until August 11.
Philippe Tabarot, a Republican senator from the Alpes-Maritimes, said: “There seems to be no limit to the extent of the blackmail.”
Xavier Bertrand, President of the Hauts-de-France region, added: “We are moving from an Olympic truce to an Olympic communion.”
Firefighters march on Thursday for an Olympic bonus Photo: Antonin Utz/AFP
Conservative daily Le Figaro complained that unions «have already won a gold medal for blackmail by strikes.»
In his article, Gaëtan de Capelle accused the French state, and by extension Mr. Macron, of “preferring to buy social peace rather than confront the crisis.”
He wrote: “In the face of professional conflict, it has already has long ago abandoned all acts of power and all restrictions on the right to strike, even the most outrageous. He reaps only what he sows.”
Fire truck sirens sounded on Thursday as some 3,500 Pompiers marched through the Place de la République in Paris, demanding «compensation» for the extra work they say they will have to do during the Games — not just in the capital but also in Paris. throughout France, wherever related events take place, such as football in Marseille.
Fire and rescue workers demanded more staff, better detection of occupational diseases and, most importantly, bonuses for participation in the Games in accordance with payments offered to the police.
“Everyone wants the Olympics to be successful and fun,” Sébastien Delavou, a representative of the CGT SDIS union, told the Telegraph as fog sirens sounded and a mini model drove past fire truck. .
He added: “But if social dialogue breaks down, we will be forced to test our strength. We want equal treatment for the Olympic prize, the same treatment as the police and gendarmes.
“Police received bonuses ranging from €1,500 to €1,900 (£1,300 to £1,600). Why not us?”
Mr Delavou denies that such actions so close to the Games amount to blackmail: “The state promised us compensation for canceling holidays during the Games. But now they pretend to be deaf.
“This whole thing could have been sorted out at the end of last year, but they're leaving it until the last minute, so what choice do we have?”
He continued: “Besides, look at the garbage men in Paris. It took two threats and a strike to get what they wanted. So just a little push and it will work.”
Mr Delavou was referring to this week's garbage pickers' strike, which has frayed the nerves of Anne Hidalgo, the socialist mayor of Paris.
One observer said Mr Macron had given the unions a gold medal. Photo: Ludovic Marin/AFP
Parisians and spectators around the world have not forgotten the photographs of the streets of the City of Light littered with 10,000 tons of rubbish last year, when garbage collectors created a stink for three weeks in protest against Macron's pension reform.
< p >When 400 garbage workers gathered in front of the municipal building on Tuesday, trade unionists said they were ready to repeat the disaster.
“If a city is dirty, the whole world will see it, and we have demands that go on for years,” said Didier Labruyère, a garbage truck driver and delegate of the Force Ouvrière union, at the Victor-Hugo garage in Ivrine-sur-Seine.
“Everything is ready for a long wait, there is even a barbecue,” added Smina Mebtoush, general secretary of CGT’s recycling branch. For the first time in history, an Olympic swimming triathlon is to be held in the Seine River — pollution permitting.
But Ms Mebtouche warned the stage may have to be renamed the Paris «rat race» if the capital's notoriously prolific rodents are allowed to breed due to the plentiful supply of food on the streets.
Triathletes take part in test events on the Seine. Photo: Bertrand Guay/AFP
The strike was called off on Thursday after Paris City Hall proposed a pay rise of 30 to 50 euros (£26 to 43) a month and an Olympic bonus of 600 to 1,900 euros (500 to £1600).
Without apparent irony, the municipality praised the garbage workers for their «spirit of responsibility and overall commitment to the overall success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.»
In February, Tony Estanguet, head of the Paris-based organizing committee, tentatively called for a «social ceasefire» during Games, saying: «I hope that we welcome the whole world in the best possible conditions and not spoil the party.»
President Macron recently expressed “full faith in trade unions.” He predicted: «They have a spirit of responsibility and they will be on our side.»
But the largest union representing civil service employees, CGT, has threatened a strike by its members for the duration of the Olympics.< /p> “The balance of power is in their favor”
Guy Grue, a sociologist from Tsevipof, University of Sciences Po, said: “The unions are well aware that the balance of power due to the Olympic Games can only be in their favor. The stakes are such that political authorities cannot say no.
Last month, one French police union threatened to disrupt the Olympic torch relay ahead of the Paris Games unless officers were given bonuses of up to €1,900 (£1,600). The request was received favorably. The municipal police are now following suit and threatening a strike.
But perhaps the biggest winners were air traffic controllers, whose simple threat of strike action last month saw them secure pay rises and sustained bonuses that averaged a net increase of €1,500. (£1,300) per month and an additional 18 days instead of 39 days of holiday.
Also in the red are workers at national rail operator SNCF, whose signalmen have secured changes to their “early retirement scheme”, meaning that they stay on 75 percent of their salary without having to work for the last 15 months of their career. For ticket inspectors this period is 18 months.
The cash-strapped French government expressed fury at the deal and effectively sacked SNCF boss Jean-Pierre Farandou, who will leave «after the Games.»
Despite the concessions, commuter and RER trains will continue to operate next Tuesday. runs SNCF in the Paris region, will be «very disrupted» by a strike over bonuses.
Negotiations were held at the Parisian public transport organization RATP. will be completed on Monday and employees will receive an average bonus of €1,000 (£850) gross. For metro and RER drivers, this could rise to €2,500 (£2,100).
“We wanted to stir things up.”
“We felt the negotiations were dragging a little and we wanted to step things up,” said Fabien Villedieu , Federal Secretary of the Sud-Rail Trade Union.
“Similar strikes took place in the transport sector in the run-up to the Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and in London in 2012,” he said, adding that “the only place where they did not occur was China.”
Trade unionists in the hotel sector, meanwhile, warned that they could follow suit, including in the most luxurious “palaces” of Paris. Didier Del Rey of the CGT union said: «Employers need to keep their staff and at the same time they know that the Olympic Games will boost their sales.»
«So this is a good opportunity to make demands,» he said. to the pro-strike website Rapports de Force.
France cannot afford to spend much. The budget deficit jumped to 5.5 percent of gross domestic product last year, according to data released last month, increasing pressure on Macron's centrist government to cut spending and save money.
France's public sector debt currently stands at 110.6% of GDP, making it the third most indebted country in the eurozone, ahead of only laggards Greece and Italy.
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