In the space of a week, three sectors are planning to mobilize and make their anger heard. Le Figaro reports on these upcoming social movements.
Towards the end of the year on the social front. And the protests start this week. Starting this Thursday, November 14, no less than three strike actions will dominate the news in the space of a week. These sector-based strikes will affect air transport, agriculture and the railways. Le Figaro reports on these upcoming social movements.
November 14: strike by airline pilots
The black week on the social front begins on Thursday, November 14, with a strike in the airline industry, in response to an increase in taxation in the sector. The French national airline pilots’ union (SNPL) has called a strike. put its threats into actionby announcing this mobilization on Sunday November 10, following the Assembly’s vote ofan increase in the tax on airline tickets during the budget debates.
“Against the government’s desire to take an extra billion a year from the airline sector, we call on the pilots but also all employees in the airline sector to mobilize on November 14.”said a spokesman for the ultra-majority pilots’ union, also calling for “a rally near the National Assembly at the end of the morning”.. In a joint statement sent out late on Sunday, several other unions in the sector (UNSA transport, UNSA PNC, CFE-CGC FNEMA, UNAC, SNPNC-FO and FEETS-FO) also announced that they were calling for “all airline sector employees to demonstrate their disagreement with this job-killing taxation in front of the National Assembly on November 14”.. The impact of this strike on air traffic should be known in the next few days.
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November 15: farmers’ actions resume
Bis repetita? Less than a year later a large-scale protest movement that paralyzed some of France’s main roads at the start of the yearfarmers are set to resume their actions starting this Friday, November 15. While symbolic actions have already resumed in recent weeks, they are set to grow in scale, particularly in response to calls from the majority unions FNSEA and Jeunes Agriculteurs (JA). “Our decision is made to take to the field again”.said FNSEA boss Arnaud Rousseau at a press conference on October 22.
In farmers’ sights, the free trade agreement between the EU and Latin American countries, Mercosurcurrently under negotiation. A “scarlet line for Arnaud Rousseau, with the farming world denouncing an agreement that would be “to the detriment of our food sovereignty, our economies and consumer health”.. Among their other demands, the professionals cite “better consideration of the health crisis”. and clarity on state-guaranteed loans. For the time being, little information on the details of the protest actions has filtered through. The local branch of the Coordination rurale in Lot-et-Garonne, at the forefront of the protest movement in January, has announced a demonstration in front of the prefecture in Agen on November 19, followed by actions to block French food freight.
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November 21: SNCF strike
Next week, on Thursday November 21, it will be the turn of SNCF agents to go on strike. They are protesting against the dismantling of Fret SNCFthe company’s rail freight division, and against the terms and conditions for opening up regional lines to competition. All the railway company’s unions are calling for a work stoppage from 7pm on Wednesday November 20 to 8am on Friday November 22.
Concerning the dismantling of Fret SNCF, the trade unions “reaffirm that a moratorium is possible and necessary to enable the various players to get back to the table, and find ways of guaranteeing not only the continuity of Fret SNCF, but also its development over the longer term”.. Beyond this “ultimatum daythe trade unions filed a strike notice renewable from December 11ten days before the Christmas vacations, to increase the pressure on the company.
“Dialogue must succeed between SNCF management and the unions, said Transport Minister François Durovray on Sunday. “Everyone is responsible, “we can’t imagine that at a time when France needs to move forward, it’s blocked and that at a time when the French want to find themselves, they can’t do so.”he said on France Info. Traffic forecasts for November 21 will be published 48 hours beforehand, on Tuesday November 19.
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SNCF: unions call for strike action on November 21 and threaten mobilization in December