Demonstration by police officers in Paris on January 18, 2024 to demand financial compensation for their mobilization during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris this summer (AFP/Dimitar DILKOFF)
Several hundred police officers demonstrated Thursday throughout France, at the call of a group of unions led by Alliance and Unsa-Police, to demand financial compensation for their mobilization during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris this summer.
This “Black Thursday”, according to the organizers, took various forms: distribution of leaflets as in Bordeaux, minimum activity in police stations, work-to-rule strike in airports or even mid-day rallies in front of numerous police stations across the country.
The main gathering brought together several hundred police officers in Paris, near the police headquarters and City Hall. “The Olympics will be without us,” chanted the civil servants, flags of their unions or “no involvement without recognition” banners in hand.
Alliance number 1, Fabien Vanhemelryck, warned that “the action was only just beginning if (they) were not listened to”. “Without exceptional measures, without prior agreement, the Olympics will be without us. Without taking into account our investment, it will be without us.”
The unions are demanding in particular guarantees on summer leave rights, bonuses for all agents of up to 2,000 euros and social support, in particular for childcare.
The three main organizations defending peacekeepers (Alliance, SGP Police-FO Unit and Unsa-Police) were received on Monday by Gérald Darmanin.
“The minister reiterated his wish that the support measures be finalized by the end of January”, indicated the entourage of the Minister of the Interior to AFP, specifying that the discussions on “the modalities of remuneration for this mobilization and social support (childcare)” had been “constructive”.
An envelope of 500 million euros should be released, according to two sources close to the matter.
– “Exceptional commitment” –
In a letter sent on December 22 to the FO union of the Ministry of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin had requested “100% mobilization” of agents from July 26 to August 11 and proposed 10 working days of leave for each agent between June 15 and September 15.
On the bonus side, the Ministry of the Interior mentions 500 euros in compensation, 1,000 or even 1,500 euros in the event of a “particularly exceptional” commitment.
Demonstration by police officers in Marseille on January 18, 2024 to demand financial compensation for their mobilization during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris this summer (AFP/Nicolas TUCAT)
In Strasbourg, under pouring rain, there were around forty police officers on Thursday disrupting traffic at the entrance to the Europe Bridge towards Germany to support their demands.
At Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport, police officers carried out a work-to-rule strike at the start of the day, causing an additional hour of waiting for passengers, according to an airport source.
In Bordeaux, around ten representatives of Alliance Police nationale met at Saint-Jean station to distribute leaflets.
The union’s regional secretary, Christophe Gras, said he expected “12 hours of shifts, five days of work and one day of rest” during the Olympics. He hopes for “an exceptional bonus for an exceptional event”.
In Châteauroux, which will host the Olympic shooting events at the National Shooting Sports Center (CNTS), police officers carried out “a symbolic blockade” of the site for 45 minutes, according to the departmental delegate of Alliance, Jérôme Retaillaud.
In Marseille, around sixty police officers gathered at midday on the grand staircase of Saint Charles station.
“After having been overexposed in Marseille since last summer with urban violence, the Pope’s visit and the Rugby World Cup, we are of course asking for a bonus for all police officers, because all police officers will be overexposed and overexploited”, explained Sébastien Greneron, the departmental secretary of Alliance.
Last Wednesday in Paris, at the call of the Unité SGP police union, around 300 police officers, according to this union, demonstrated on board four double-decker buses.
© 2024 AFP
Did you like this article ? Share it with your friends using the buttons below.
