September 10th Blockade: Unions, Political Parties... Who is Calling for What?
Summary: Between those who prefer to stay away from the initiative, those who support it and those who are cautious, "Le Nouvel Obs" takes stock.
By News Service
A call has been made to "block everything" in France on September 10. STEPHANE MOUCHMOUCHE / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP
"Block everything" on September 10? The union confederations, pushed by their bases and certain federations, remain wary of the initiative, which several union leaders fear will be hijacked; this movement, still very nebulous, is reminiscent of the "Yellow Vests" in 2018 , from which the unions had kept quite distant.
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For its part, the left, which has been making its political comeback since midweek with several parties' summer universities, is rather committed to supporting the "Block Everything" movement, while the National Rally is clearly distancing itself from it. As the date approaches, "Le Nouvel Obs" takes stock to sort out who is in favor, who is against it, and who is even more cautious.
• SupportersOn the union side, several of the CGT departmental bodies and federations, including those of the chemical and commercial sectors, have already decided to support the movement, without waiting for the opinion of the confederal office, which will meet next Tuesday and Wednesday to define an official position.
On the political side, the left is committed to supporting the September 10 blockade movement, with the government's censure in its sights.
LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who very clearly called for a "general strike" during the protest movement on Friday evening, hopes that it will help him bring down François Bayrou's government. "September 10 must be a day of general blockade, that is to say, as far as employees are concerned, September 10 must be a general strike," declared the leader of the Insoumis, in front of several thousand activists in Châteauneuf-sur-Isère , in the Drôme.
For her part, the head of the Ecologists, Marine Tondelier, also calls for support for this mobilization and those to come from the unions, estimating in " Libération " on Wednesday that: "the future of our country is at stake in (the) large-scale movements announced for the start of the school year." But she says she refuses any recovery, urging the parties not to "spoil everything by organizing a competition of the number of flags or by making the demonstrators uncomfortable because they would have the impression of following in the footsteps of this or that presidential candidate."
The Socialists are also rather in favor of calls from citizens' groups to "block everything" in France on September 10. This is what the First Secretary of the Socialist Party implied. " We will be there on September 10 and the following days ," promised Olivier Faure. Not to " channel, tame, exploit, or subdue " this movement but to " offer it a political outlet that is not that of the extreme right . " "On September 10, there will be a strong mobilization that everyone can see can match the exasperation and rejection of the current government. It can be massive. We do not fully know its contours. Its demands are vague, but we must support it," he specified during a speech at the Ecologists' Summer Days in Strasbourg.
Unlike left-wing parties, the National Rally "is not intended to be the organizer of demonstrations" and will not give instructions to its supporters, deputy Edwige Diaz, vice-president of the far-right movement, told AFP on Friday. "Our role as a political party is to provide answers to people's problems and demands. Not to shout into a loudspeaker," declared the elected representative from Gironde, explaining that the RN "is not intended to be the instigator (or) the organizer of demonstrations."
However, "our members and our voters are free to do what they want," adds the vice-president in charge of training the party's members, while saying she fears excesses on the fringes of the processions.
"We are not here to take a position on social movements, we were elected around Marine Le Pen to the National Assembly to defend the positions of the French people, the working classes, the middle classes, those who work, retirees, those who can no longer stand being taxed," RN MP Thomas Ménagé added on Europe 1 on Friday, calling for the country not to be "brought into disarray."
• The cautious onesThe CGT, the first union representative to speak out publicly on the issue, was cautious on Friday about the initiative while awaiting the official position of the confederal office. While "the social demands and the denunciation" of the draft budget "completely match our analysis" , "on the rest, things are very nebulous" , judged Sophie Binet , leader of the CGT, on France Inter. While welcoming "the multiplication of mobilization initiatives" , which "shows the will to act and the great social anger" , the CGT remains "very vigilant about attempts at infiltration and instrumentalization by the extreme right, which, in certain places, tries to develop anti-union discourse" or to direct it against "immigrants" .
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