The tax center at Place de l’Argonne, in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, has not yet opened its doors this Monday morning, but around fifty people are already standing in single file in the rain, the along the closed gates of the building.
The time slots for welcoming the public having been restricted since September to three mornings per week, it is a question of not missing the boat. “We have been here since 7:15 a.m. and there were already three people before us”testifies, between fatalism and anger, Lila *, who came to accompany her 70-year-old mother, to try to resolve a dispute which has lasted for months and undermines the septuagenarian.
For Nadia Djiab, co-secretary of the CGT Public Finances section in Paris, today’s crowd “is nothing compared to the peaks observed during income tax campaigns or when tax notices are issued.” An observation which, in his eyes, makes the prospect of seeing this site, nestled in a very dense working-class neighborhood, closing by 2028 all the more incoherent. This is, however, what the company is preparing to announce this Tuesday. November 26, the Paris regional public finance department to staff representatives, meeting at a social administrative committee. A decision that does not pass for the CGT and Solidaires, who walked off the job the same day.
Only 12 sites left in the long term, compared to 25 sites in 2021
Their management calls it the “new proximity network” (NRP). Strange name for a plan which will result in the closure of centers dedicated to welcoming individuals. In addition to that of Place de l’Argonne, the tax center of the 16th arrondissement would also pay for this project from 2026.
Since the launch of the first NRP plan, in 2021, the Parisian mapping of the disappearance of counters has been enough to make one dizzy, with the planned death of the centers in the 11th (in 2025), the 12th and 13th arrondissement (in 2027), while that those of the 3rd and 4th have already closed their doors to be grouped together in the premises of the 2nd arrondissement, where would be dedicated to join, from 2028, that of Place de l’Argonne. “In 2021, Paris still had 25 sites, ultimately there will only be twelve left, where the 3,900 public finance agents will have to cram together”denounces Nadia Djiab.
To the criticisms of the unions, management would oppose the need to favor what it calls “multi-channel receptions”, namely the exchanges by email and telephone. But, believes the trade unionist, “for part of the population, it remains very complicated to get to grips with new technologies, administrative language, as well as constantly changing tax legislation”. Not sure either, according to her, that this meets the efficiency criteria praised by management: “When we receive a user at the counter, we try to resolve their problem in one go, whereas by email or telephone, there are a lot of back and forths. A request that could be processed within a week will take much longer. »
Sophie Warrin, CGT elected official, who works at the counter, has already noted the failure of these instructions aimed at discouraging users from coming to receptions, by making the experience as painful as possible. “When they come, there is first a first barrier to assess whether their request is admissible and, then, it must not last more than five minutes. All this does is delay the resolution of their problems. »
Orchestrated disorganization
“We are told that we must detoxify users from this need to come and that, in any case, Artificial Intelligence will respond to everything. However, we realize that this does not answer anything at all”agrees Nadia Djiab, who gives as an example the new application dedicated to housing taxes, which would have “generated reviews for 3 month old children! »
According to her, both agents and users would be faced with “orchestrated disorganization”, against a backdrop of job cuts that have continued for ten years. With the aim of “better make the closure pill go away”. It is therefore not surprising to see growing public anger and aggression, for which agents often bear the brunt.
“These working conditions and the insecurity generated by these successive redeployments induce growing discomfort and psychosocial risks”believes Fabrice Egalis, CGT representative for public finance and specialized occupational health and safety training. What can we expect from this Tuesday strike? “We have little illusion, it will not be enough to make them back down”recognizes the trade unionist, whose gaze is already turned towards the general mobilization of civil servants planned for December 5, which he hopes will be powerful enough to move the lines.
* The first name has been changed.
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