France

On 16 March 2023, President Emmanuel Macron moved to force through a new law on the national pension age without holding a vote in the French Parliament. The President resorted to the use of anti-democratic special constitutional powers (contained in article 49.3 of the French Constitution) to push forward his government’s plan to raise the retirement age of French citizens from 62 to 64. Macron’s decision to invoke this controversial constitutional tool was in direct response to the powerful and united labour movements. Millions of French people have forcefully affirmed their opposition to the legislation through weeks of demonstrations and strikes. These mass mobilisations were supported by a large majority of the population and almost all workers. However, the government responded by using illegal requisitions of staff in several sectors, while police forces brutally repressed peaceful demonstrations, using tear gas and batons to violently beat up protesters. Hundreds of people have been arbitrarily arrested in a clear attempt by the authorities to intimidate protestors from continuing to express their demands.

In the early morning of 4 October 2022, four maintenance workers of the Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE) were arrested in their homes by the DGSI (the French intelligence services) and held in custody in the premises of the DGSI in Levallois. The workers at RTE had been on strike for four months over low wages in the face of the rising inflation. At the end of July, their company filed a complaint for “malicious acts” and for “having disrupted the operations of the company”.

The Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) denounced these arrests and questioned the intervention in a labour dispute by intelligence services specialised in terrorism.

On 12 September 2022, a French court ruled in favour of unions FO, CFDT and CGT, recognising employer interference in the 2019 social elections held by the care home provider Orpea. The court overturned the election results and ruled that new elections must be held.

The case arose as the French unions denounced the rigged elections in favour of yellow union Arc-En-Ciel. Candidates of this yellow union had largely benefited from “financial and tactical support” from management.

In 2022, several representatives of the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) were victims of harassment and anti-union discrimination measures, including demotion, disciplinary sanctions, dismissals and filing of lawsuits for strike action.

In 2022, several representatives of the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) were victims of harassment and anti-union discrimination measures, including demotion, disciplinary sanctions, dismissals and filing of lawsuits for strike action.