in Châteaubriant, why are they in the street?

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The sky looks gray, Tuesday October 1st in the morning in Châteaubriant (Loire-Atlantique). The streets of the city center do not attract crowds. You have to go down rue Aristide Briand towards Place Ernest Bréant and the town hall square to find a few onlookers.

Strike of October 1: in Châteaubriant, why are they in the street?

Bertrand Alloucherie is one of them. This professional printer comes to express his anger. On this first day of the month, several unions (CGT, Solidaires FSU and the Peasant Confederation) are calling for manifestation.

“I am here to defend purchasing powerthe increase in the minimum wage and railing against the new pension reform,” says the man who has worked night shifts for 37 years in Héric (Loire-Atlantique), flat cap on his head to protect his scalp from the rain.

“I’m 55, I’m tired. The government must understand that factory employees cannot work until the age of 67,” insists this employee of the Cila printing company.

“I am also impatiently awaiting Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s speech to the Assembly. But in my opinion, his speech does not envisage anything good. It will increase everything, and it is the poor who will pay,” predicts this resident of Issé (Loire-Atlantique), leaning on a wall which houses a shoe store in the city center, opposite the town hall.

“We voted, and President Emmanuel Macron, by appointing Michel Barnier as Prime Minister, did not keep his promises. It’s not serious. »

Epsylan represented

With her smile and her good humor, one might believe that everything is going well for Sandrine Friot. This is not the case. This caregiver at the Epsylan establishment in Blain (Loire-Atlantique) has a big problem.

“We have carried out six actions since the closure of beds in January 2024 at the Blain hospital, due to a lack of psychiatric doctors,” contextualizes this representative of the CGT, union flag in one hand, lit cigarette in the other.

There were nineteen hospital practitioners at the hospital. Today, there are only five, soon to be four. Psychiatry is the poor relation of health. Our patients are getting worse and worse. It’s a disaster.

Once the interview is over, the caregiver joins relatives, still in front of the town hall. Like the 85 other people present for this event, she listened attentively to Serge Adry’s speech.

The big tackle against Emmanuel Macron

Local figure of the CGT, the retiree speaks. And as usual, the man, dressed in a red jacket, speaks without wearing gloves.

“King Macron (Emmanuel Macron, President of the Republic, Editor’s note) does not care about the results of the elections,” he complains into his microphone. His voice is relayed by a powerful speaker, so that the message can be heard several hundred meters away.

Emmanuel Macron has been beaten three times, but he continues to travel without worrying about the country and its population.

Without losing anger, the retiree adds: “2.9 million retirees receive less than €1,000 per month including 74% women, and 55% of the 17 million retirees survive on pensions below the minimum wage. At the same time everything increases except our salaries and our purchasing power continues to decline. »

After giving a speech lasting several minutes, the man, also president of the local committee for the remembrance of the heroes of Châteaubriant,pass the microphone to another famous face from the protests: Claudie Barreau.

This is the second and final speech of the morning. But the latter does not leave indifferent those who brave the cold and the rain to demonstrate. “As a person with a disability we clearly lack financial assistance,” points out this retiree, who receives “€800 per month” in pension.

« JI would like the Prime Minister to listen to people with disabilities.Because we too have the right to a better life. » A speech greeted with applause.

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