In the space of a week, three sectors plan to mobilize and make their anger heard. Le Figaro takes stock of these upcoming social movements.
Towards a tense end of the year on the social front. And the protests start this week. Starting this Thursday, November 14, no less than three strike movements will dominate the news in the space of a week. Sectoral mobilizations, which will concern air transport, agriculture and rail. Le Figaro takes stock of these upcoming social movements.
November 14: airline pilots strike
The dark week on the social level will begin Thursday, November 14 with a strike in the airline industry, in response to an increase in taxation in the sector. The national union of airline pilots (SNPL) has in fact put its threats into effect, announcing this mobilization on Sunday, November 10, after the vote by the Assembly for an increase in the tax on plane tickets during the debates budgetary.
“Against the government's desire to take an additional billion per year from the airline sector, we are calling on pilots but also all employees in the airline sector to mobilize on November 14”declared a spokesperson for the ultra-majority union among pilots, also calling for “a gathering near the National Assembly at the end of the morning”. In a joint press release sent late Sunday, several other unions in the sector (UNSA transport, UNSA PNC, CFE-CGC FNEMA, UNAC, SNPNC-FO and FEETS-FO) also announced that 'they called “all employees of the airline sector to come and demonstrate their disagreement with this tax that is deadly for jobs before the National Assembly on November 14”. The impact of this strike on air traffic should be known in the coming days.
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Airline pilots union calls for strike against air transport taxation
November 15: resumption of farmers' actions
Again? Less than a year after a large-scale protest movement which partly paralyzed major roads in France at the start of the year, farmers are expected to resume their actions from this Friday, November 15. If symbolic actions have already resumed in recent weeks, they should be amplified, in particular at the call of the majority unions FNSEA and Young Farmers (JA). “Our decision has been made to return to the field”declared the boss of the FNSEA Arnaud Rousseau during a press conference organized on October 22.
In the sights of farmers, the free trade agreement between the EU and Latin American countries, Mercosur, currently under negotiation. A “scarlet line” for Arnaud Rousseau, the agricultural world denouncing an agreement that would be made “to the detriment of our food sovereignty, our economies and consumer health”. Among their other demands, professionals cite “better consideration of the health crisis” in livestock farms, or even clarity on state-guaranteed loans. For the moment, little information on the details of the protest actions has filtered out. The local branch of Rural Coordination in Lot-et-Garonne, on the front line of the unrest movement in January, announced a demonstration in front of the Agen prefecture on November 19, and subsequently actions to block food freight French.
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“The count is not there”: farmers’ unions call for demonstrations “from November 15”
November 21: strike at the SNCF
Next week, on Thursday November 21, it will be the turn of SNCF agents to strike. They wish to protest against the dismantling of Fret SNCF, the division of the company dedicated to rail freight, and against the terms of opening regional lines to competition. All the railway company's unions are calling for a stop to work from Wednesday November 20 at 7 p.m. to Friday November 22 at 8 a.m.
Concerning the dismantling of Fret SNCF, trade union organizations “reaffirm that the establishment of a moratorium is possible and necessary to allow the various players to get back around the table, and find ways to guarantee not only the continuity of Fret SNCF, but also its development on the most long term”. Beyond this “ultimatum day”the inter-union filed a renewable strike notice from December 11, ten days before the Christmas holidays, to increase pressure on the company.
“The dialogue must succeed” between the leaders of the SNCF and the unions, judged the Minister of Transport, François Durovray on Sunday. “Everyone is responsible”, “we cannot imagine that at the moment when France must move forward, it will be blocked and that at the moment when the French want to find themselves again, they will not be able to do so”he said on France Info. Traffic forecasts for November 21 will be known 48 hours before, i.e. Tuesday November 19.
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SNCF: unions call for strike on November 21 and threaten mobilization in December
