REPLAY: French union leaders urges strikes after meeting with PM Lecornu

We're going to listen to the head of the CGT union who's actually walked out of that meeting with the prime minister. In the meantime here for three hours the scale of the anger of workers, the scale of social grievances. For the rest, however, it's catastrophic. We have come to obtain tangible, immediate answers to the social anger. the prime minister, the government announced no measure whatsoever in response to our demands. We expressed jointly to the prime minister that you don't respond to social grievances through security measures and repression. with one voice. We told him that he must stop trampling and showing contempt for young people and workers together. We told him that he had to receive the youth organizations. They should have been received a month ago here. We obtained the announcement that they would be received one day, but we don't have the date and what we said to the prime minister is that every hour counts what must happen is they be received immediately otherwise the anger will continue to progress the problem isn't the anger that is being expressed the problem is the policy causing it For 10 years, Macron and his government have just been fanning the flames and adding fuel to the fire that is already burning. There should not be any surprise that anger is exploding and fire is spreading. The grievances of the workers are simple, straightforward, well-known. These are the grievances carried by youth organizations, the end of the university's admission service and also the grievances of workers against cost of living, an immediate increase, the minimum wage 10% of public service servant workers, indexation of all salaries on prices to put an end to the impact on workers. We asked the Prime Minister of his draft budget that is dangerous for the country, for workers, whereas millions of workers have to count every single euro every day are overdrawn as of the middle of the month they are taking money out of our pockets taxing the ill or social benefits reducing income for families tenants etc it's not only unfair and dangerous socially but it's dangerous economically It's a budget of recession, and we asked the Prime Minister about the situation of our public services by saying that we've lived through a catastrophic summer. It would not have been so catastrophic had our warnings been heard, and his budget was outrageous because his budget is preparing a summer of 2027 even worse than this year's with non-financed hospitals, with unprotected kindergartens, and health workers who are not protected. We receive no response to our demands, and so the Prime Minister is only feeling the anger I call upon workers. The time has come to take the mobilization to a new level. Strike must kick in. That's why CGT is calling for the widest possible mobilization on the 5th of November. We're calling on workers to organize general meetings everywhere in their workplaces with all their colleagues in all departments, in all plants and factories so as to spread the strike far and wide on the 5th of November. Strike is on the agenda. When the workers stop, the country stops, the economy grinds to a halt, and at last our grievances will be heard. For the immediate future, for the 21st of October, I told the Prime Minister that CGT would assume its full responsibility. We call on all our members to don their yellow vests so that young people and workers can exercise their right to demonstrate and make their demands. I see that you have the announcements before we give them to you. So the ministers have sketched out a few things. The Labour minister said he would receive us soon to discuss the cost of living issue, but we have nothing specific and no specific announcement, whereas our grievances are well known and the government is in control. Yes, business leaders refuse to increase pay, but government can index prices and salaries and release billions of euros and index wages. We're counting on immediate measures. We've received nothing whatsoever. What we told the Prime Minister and his government, is that every day that passes, the cost of living will rise. Today, there's huge anger in the country because he's refused to respond to our warnings for months now. Situation, anger is huge because in 2023, Macron waded through 30 days of protest against the reform of the pension system every day passed, waiting to respond to our grievances, the bill will rise for the government. Has the Prime Minister imposed security conditions on you for the 5th of November strike? No, it's not his job to do that. We said that we can secure our own protest marches. We've always done that, and the Interior Minister confirmed that. It's up to the government to maintain law and order, that's their function. We warned the government about serious law enforcement breaches that have occurred these past few days and also that over 250 young people, essentially minors, were wounded, injured and often seriously. Some have lost an eye, teeth, even a hand. We also told the government that last Saturday and Sunday, two demonstrators died and investigations underway and also that our activists, union members, were targeted, whereas they were clearly identified that they were placed in detention and our union leaders in Toulouse were wounded, were injured because the banner was targeted by a stun grenade from the police forces. All this should be clarified, but we needed to change the law enforcement strategy and the only way of making sure that the country returns to calm is to meet the social demands. Will you be contributing to securing the protest marches? Yes, we will be with our yellow vests to accompany those who wish to protest to protect young people who wish to march and guarantee the fundamental constitutional freedom that we have to demonstrate there is no democracy without freedom to demonstrate that distinguishes a democracy from a dictatorship that's why i'll be present on saturday to make sure that all those who wish to demonstrate can do that so safely. During the meeting, there was the bond lending rate that has exceeded 5%. What we've said, he knows that we're making proposals for additional income. We said that we needed tax justice. Workers have nothing in their pockets left, and the rich have never been so wealthy it's the first time in the history of france that so many dividends have been paid out to shareholders where salaries haven't returned to their 2021 levels the prime minister must take the money where it is to fund public services and reduce the deficit thank you you were listening there to the head of the CGT union that is one of the unions uh that met with the prime minister So we're going to take a listen to now what another union leader has to say. We said that we could secure the demonstration of the 5th of November with the support of the Ministry of Interior forces and we turned rapidly to the issues of interest to us on youth mobilization and cost of living. We were expecting a few announcements. was forthcoming, save that on Monday, as regards the youth and the initial measures that would be discussed regarding classroom numbers, replacement teachers, university admissions. That's a list of points that might be addressed on Monday, but nothing concrete and ditto for the cost of living for affordability where Minister Faudo said that there would be a discussion with us regarding the minimum wage whether it would be updated or increased sooner around pay negotiations with businesses how they can be enhanced that will require meetings with business leaders and also to ensure that better classifications for businesses and trades are implemented to boost minimum wages. So those are possible avenues that might be addressed that we've been calling for for a long time. As things stand, we made the proposals a long time ago. We We're expecting tangible measures. The Prime Minister said that we would work with the appropriate ministers for a month and that we'd meet again in three weeks' time. And no announcements have been forthcoming. I can believe that matters will be followed up on but announcements won't be before three weeks or a month and that doesn't respond to today's urgency and the prevailing anger we said that we had two sets of measures one set that would take a bit longer but some emergency measures, bonuses awarded to employees so that they could fill their fridges and their fuel tanks. And those emergency measures haven't been taken. So we're emerging with marked disappointment. The anger hasn't been sufficiently heard. And we'll see the work that will be done over the coming weeks. We've done the diagnosis. We've had extensive meetings. We want tangible measures. We're going to meet again in three weeks' time. And for employees, we expect the first measures. But it's hugely disappointing because a meeting, let's hope that it's followed up tangibly in the coming weeks with concrete measures. So you're saying the government's opened the door? Yeah, the government's opened the door to a discussion around the minimum wage, basically. So nothing is excluded or ruled out. But in saying that, we haven't said very much. We're disappointed. He spoke tangibly about the fact that for public servants to work so that the bonus systems are aligned and with minimum wage applicable for the private sector with that some pay scales that are below the minimum wage. So there are a few avenues to be explored, but today we were expecting some tangible measures to respond to the anger. We're asked to make sure that the demonstrations are calmer. The best solution to that is measures that bring down the temperature. How are we going to quell the unrest with that? Thank you. About the demonstrations, what was said, the Minister of the Interior may have referred to demonstrations announced by questionable groups that might be banned, but we were told there's total freedom of demonstration. He's not here to ban them. We're trying to organize things together to make sure that the demos go well. But union demonstration, no difficulty that declared beforehand and the itinerary is clearly identified. And so we said we'd be able to control our demonstration on the itinerary. But what happens around it is a matter for public enforcement, for law enforcement. We can't control the side streets next to the demonstration. So, Saturday to secure the demonstration. Will you be present? No, we won't be present. We'll try to focus on our demands and the work done these next three weeks. I call for calm, but we won't be physically present. It's a citizen's demonstration. It's up to them to demonstrate. And a final question for the business owners, for the store owners, have you changed the route? Well, the route will be discussed with the police authorities. Quite honestly, I don't think we'll be able to secure the route and the stores and shops on that route. The problem is really in businesses and stores to be found in side streets. That's where the major risk, that's a matter for public law enforcement. The stores on our route have never posed any difficulty. Sophie Vénétille for the FSU, the first federation in national education. We started this meeting by reminding the Prime Minister and the government So we reminded them what was a state was a state of democracy, a country in which we need to be able to demonstrate safely and freely. We've always assumed our responsibilities and ensured the security and safety before higher schools and no one can lecture us about that. democracy is all where we respond to the demands of staff and students and in that respect the meeting didn't provide any answers we've come out of it with a calendar and a method after four weeks we're way below what we can expect it means that government is not in a position to provide tangible answers to staff and to students. We're told there's going to be a meeting on Monday. Nothing's been said about budgetary matters. All the students are asking for has budgetary implications. We need to know what are the positions that will be created in higher education to put an end to the selection process through the university's admissions service. It means that the government isn't responding to the anger expressed by students and education staff. That's why we're calling for a major mammoth strike on the 5th of November. We need to at last secure some answers, even if it means going to the clash. We know the government can only respond by setting out calendars and timelines on the 5th of November will secure the budgetary social and political answers we need to once again invest in education in pay and resources so that the french school system delivers on its promises as it's not been able to do these past few years. Monday is a meeting by the education ministry with the personnel, the organizations from high schools. The minister said that he'd be presenting some initial results. We see clearly that we won't be able to stop at Monday's meeting. We know what the grievances are. We know there are problems with school buildings and premises. In June, we showed that in close on 80% of high schools, the temperature reached 33 degrees. We know that. He wants to talk about replacements. Well, we know that we're short of staff in the education ministry. It's not the tinkering by the minister regarding the advent of replacements that's going to change anything. This meeting is being announced. We're told that it's going to allow us to have the first results of the platform. But the government is way behind the calendar. The timetable should have been presented three weeks ago. That's been overtaken by events. We need answers, political, social and budget-free answers. And if the government doesn't give any today, we're going to seek those through the strike. You're calling for the teachers to assemble on the demonstration where the conditions are met. We'll also be able to contribute to securing the march. That's a possibility.