« No to the scrapping of public services in the name of budgetary austerity. » Teachers, hospital workers, energy specialists… Nearly 4,000 people marched this Thursday afternoon in the streets of Bordeaux. The banners are there, the slogans too. But who are they addressing, in the wake of the motion of censure? Which government, which budget?
“The recipients are those responsible for the situation, that is to say the deputies and Emmanuel Macron,” replies Stéphane Obé, secretary of the Departmental Union of the General Confederation of Labor (UD CGT 33). “We are demonstrating for a budget which takes into account our demands for social justice and distribution of wealth, in an unprecedented and serious political context and the most precarious impoverishment, which makes our slogan more relevant than ever: public services are the capital of those who do not have it. »
The demonstration was maintained despite the motion of censure, but certain slogans still referred to Michel Barnier.
Guillaume Bonnaud / SO
The mobilization exceeds the forecasts of the trade union organizations: in the procession, quite a few teachers, particularly from schools, goaded by an unexpected tout: “The former President of the Republic Nicolas Sarkozy insulted us all by declaring [le 8 novembre] that we only worked 24 hours a week,” confides this teacher.
Guillaume Bonnaud / SO
Many teachers among the demonstrators.
“75% of primary school teachers are on strike,” says Laurence Laborde, departmental co-secretary of the Unitary Union Federation (FSU). For her, the recipient of the demonstration is “the policy of the previous government which will be re-discussed along the same lines: making the public service pay for these “Covid essentials” for the gifts granted to the richest. »
Deficiency and numbers
At the top of the demands: the three-day waiting period for sick leave for civil servants. “Going to work sick will also penalize users. For me, a teacher, this would be the risk of weakening the students. For a nurse, to contaminate patients. »
Guillaume Bonnaud / SO
The Social Security budget, which brought about the fall of the government, had its place in the parade of signs.
For Stéphane Holuigue, of the National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions (Unsa), the power vacuum is “precisely the moment to show the social values defended by the trade union movement in the political chaos”, welcoming the passage of the union between organizations this Thursday. “It was therefore necessary to maintain the demonstration. »
“We know very well that the future government will have a little different political color”
Jérôme Pigé, of the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT), believes for his part that “the recipient of today's message is the political world as a whole to warn them against the temptation to make civil servants the goat debt emissary, because we know very well that the future government will have a little different political color. »
Guillaume Bonnaud / SO
Despite the drizzle, 4,000 people responded to the unions' call.
The budget, with its clear cuts in university finances or reductions in teaching staff, is not the only theme of the slogans. Retirement at 64, voted for under the Borne government, continues to mobilize people. But then again, for whom is the message? This one, scribbled on a piece of cardboard, has at least one clearly identified recipient: “Kisses Barnier”.
With or without government, the unions do not intend to disarm. The CGT is already calling for demonstrations on Thursday 12 – this time for all jobs, including private ones, threatened by business closures.
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