Union threatens to derail Paris Olympics with strike notices

THE Paris Olympics have been thrown into chaos after France’s largest public service union issued strike notices for the entire period of the Games.

A spokesman for the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) said that thousands of state workers were ready to walk out during the Olympic Games.

Céline Verzelett, the GGT secretary, said: “The notices concern all health, local authority and state workers.”

She said that there was anger that the Games, costing upwards of €4billion (£3.4billion), were not resulting in higher wages or job security for ordinary workers. The strike notices turn the threat of industrial action into a legal possibility.

The notices cover the period April 10 to Sept 15, which includes both the Olympics and Paralympics.

As far back as July 2022, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, told the sporting daily L’equipe: “Everything will be done to avoid any risk of industrial action.”

Since then, Mr Macron has made every effort to stop the unions from issuing strike notices.

Last month, it was announced that eligible workers will receive a bonus of up to €1,500 (£1,280) for working throughout the Olympics. It came after employees at the Eiffel Tower shut down the monument for six days, demanding salary rises and better maintenance of the landmark.

Social tensions remain high in France, with mass protests held in recent months by workers including teachers, police officers, farmers, and medical staff.

Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, has expressed concern that the city’s public transport “won’t be ready” for the Games when millions of extra visitors will be in the city.

The CGT branch of the RATP, the Paris transport operator, issued a seven-month strike notice starting in February. Sophie Binet, a union spokesman, said: “I recommend that management start negotiations to ensure that the

Olympic Games go smoothly.”

On Tuesday, France’s senate voted to allow the government to ban transport strikes during 30 set days each year, a move designed to avoid interruptions ahead of events such as the Olympics.

Hervé Marseille, the Union of Democrats and Independents senator, who submitted the proposal, said it was outrageous that “individual interests trump the general interest”.

However, the right to strike is enshrined in the French constitution, and Marseille’s measure – which Mr Macron’s administration opposes – is unlikely to be enshrined in law.

The threat of industrial action during the Games comes as organisers admitted that the triathlon events could be postponed or become a duathlon for the first time in Olympic history because of pollution in the Seine river. With barely 100 days until the start of the Olympic Games on July 26, a French water charity has warned about the “alarming” state of the Seine and the “risks faced by athletes moving in contaminated water”.

Tony Estanguet, the president of Paris 2024, admitted E. coli was “one of the bigger challenges” facing the organisers and, while “very confident” that the water quality will sufficiently improve, disclosed that contingencies were in place. Emmanuel Macron, the president, and Anne Hidalgo, Paris’s Socialist mayor, have both said they are willing to plunge into the Seine to show they are good sports before the event

‘I recommend that management start negotiations to ensure that the Games go smoothly’