October 1 demonstration: in Paris, thousands of people demand a budget commensurate with the crisis

Waiting in front of the television for Prime Minister Michel Barnier to deliver his general policy speech? Very little for the thousands of people who started an inter-union demonstration this Tuesday, at the call of the CGT, FSU and Solidaires.

Place Denfert-Rochereau, in Paris, the demonstrators are determined to demonstrate their opposition to the policy of the new government, which promises to be retrograde and austerity. “The Barnier government is a joke. We find ourselves with a very right-wing government while the day after the elections, we obtain a relative majority New Popular Front”castigates Maxime Schaud, computer scientist at SNCF, green chasuble flocked with SUD rail on his back.

A wind of anger in the face of Emmanuel Macron’s contempt

The anger felt by the procession in the face of Macron’s contempt for the results of the early elections is not, however, the only motive for the movement. “Today, the mobilization aims to put the social question and the world of work back at the center of the debate”says Sophie Binet, national secretary of the CGT.

The head of the confederation recalls that the emergency today lies in increasing salaries and pensions, better financing of public services and the repeal of the pension reform.

Everywhere in the parades, the observation of the disengagement of the State in the public sectors and the worrying specter of an austerity turn of the screw are worrying. “Public services are a central element of our social cohesion that governments continue to unravel. When I worked in public finance, we had more than 4,000 tax offices where people could go. Today there are barely 2,000. This means that users have to travel, which is sometimes impossible in rural areas,” denounces Dominique, retired and former Solidarity elected official.

The school sector also in the grip of austerity

What does she expect from Barnier’s speech? ” Nothing ! » she hastens to respond. “The measures announced, such as a 2% boost to the minimum wage, in no way represent a radical change of direction in the government’s liberal policy,” she exclaims.

Austerity also lurks within the school system. “We are heading towards further job cuts at schools, while we are already seeing the consequences of the lack of agents on a daily basis in establishments. Two weeks ago in my high school, there were still five vacancies”explains Maud, a German teacher in Île-de-France unionized at the FSU.

It is difficult to understand how the hiring of voluntary retired professors, mentioned by the Prime Minister, could resolve this fundamental problem. The planned weakening of public services is all the more annoying since financing solutions exist and have been hammered out for years by trade union organizations.

“We must target those who take advantage of the system”

“We take money from employees to plug the holes in the budget, but we don’t touch the employers”annoys Éric, a metallurgist in the Loire. Murielle Guilbert, national co-delegate of the Solidaires union, agrees. “Dividend distribution represents 63 billion euros just for the first six months of 2024, she reminds. We are in favor of taxing them better, creating a new wealth tax with a broader base. We must target those who take advantage of the system”.

Faced with the demands of a “profound tax reform”l’effort “targeted and punctual” asked of the greatest fortunes mentioned by Michel Barnier during his general policy declaration may not be enough to convince the demonstrators.

Difficult to mobilize as much as for pensions

Despite the energy of young people, retirees and employees present in the Parisian streets, supported by numerous slogans chanted to the rhythm of the batucadas, the procession appears slightly sparse this Tuesday. The moment may be serious, but it has proven difficult for trade union organizations to mobilize in proportions similar to those of the pension reform.

“It must be said that there is a certain weariness. We have had quite a string of mobilizations, between salaries, inflation, pension reform”sighs Florian, civil engineering research engineer at EDF.

The trade union organizations, however, hope to succeed in anchoring the movement over time. The stakes are high: to have influence in the next budgetary debates, in particular to obtain the suspension of the pension reform, at a time when the Prime Minister is leaving the possibility of adjustments to the law hovering. All the unions should meet at the end of the day on Wednesday to discuss the follow-up to Michel Barnier’s general policy speech.