Before the day of action on Thursday March 23, the secretary general of the CGT, Philippe Martinez, assures that the protest once morest the pension reform is not over, while the 53e congress of the confederation, from March 27 to 31, during which he will hand over.
The rejection of the motions of censure, Monday, by the deputies leads to the adoption of the pension reform. Is this a failure for the inter-union?
It’s not a failure. This is a fundamental problem, which reflects everything that has happened since the start of the examination of the text in Parliament. The government has set up a parliamentary route to go as quickly as possible. With a law that was not passed at first reading in the Assembly, then an accelerated procedure in the Senate. And therefore a motion of censure, rejected on the razor’s edge.
Some, within the government, believe that the rejection of the motion of censure is worth adherence to the reform. What do you think ?
It has nothing to do. The motion of censure is confidence in the government, it is not the adoption of a law. If they had been sure of their shot, they would have organized a vote last week.
How do you view the spontaneous demonstrations that have taken place since Thursday evening?
The inter-union had warned, in a letter to the President of the Republic, that the situation was explosive. It didn’t seem to alert anyone. Yet we spoke knowingly. You have to keep in mind that 90% of the initiatives last weekend resulted from calls from the inter-union. But it’s true that in some big cities, there are sudden mobilizations that are not necessarily supervised. The new point is that they take place every evening and that there are more and more young people.
Incidents broke out, with police interventions. How do you judge the practice of the police?
The police intervene in a… “energetic” way, we will say, and sometimes without discernment. That’s why there are so many arrests. The government is trying to make things worse. It’s an old tactic to discredit the movement. Impress people, scare them and try to regain control of public opinion. But what characterizes this movement is that for two months, public opinion has not moved. It was even confirmed in the rejection of the reform.
What do you think of the interventions of the police at the oil depots of Donges (Loire-Atlantique) and Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône) to dislodge strikers who are blocking sites?
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