France: unions call general strike for 5 November after meeting Lecornu
The CGT and other unions are disappointed with the government: CGT leader Sophie Binet said no measures were announced. She urged the widest possible mobilisation on 5 November.
Archive image · Photo: Selbymay / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
French trade unions have called a general strike for 5 November after a meeting with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s government. The union alliance led by the CGT judged Wednesday’s talks at the Matignon prime ministerial residence unsatisfactory, LaPresse reported, citing Le Figaro. “The Prime Minister and the government have not announced any measures,” said CGT general secretary Sophie Binet.
The unions had come “to obtain concrete and immediate responses to the social unrest,” Binet said. Social mobilisation cannot be countered with security measures and repression, she added. She accused the government of disregarding and humiliating young people and workers and called for the “widest possible mobilisation on 5 November.”
Following the unrest that began on 17 October, temporary curfews are in force in several French cities, The Rio Times reported. According to Binet, “the strike must take centre stage.”