Officials of the CFE-CGC, CGT and UNSA unions of Groupe ADP (formerly Aéroports de Paris), manager of the Paris airports of Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly, were arrested on Friday July 9 at the end of morning in Orly, during a demonstration of striking employees, before being released in the early afternoon, Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned from union sources. An airport source confirmed the arrest of demonstrators by the police in Orly. Air traffic was normal at midday at Orly and almost normal at Roissy, said Groupe ADP management.
Véronique Pigueron, president of ADP’s CFE-CGC, told AFP by telephone that she had been “Arrested by the police, with the CGT manager in Orly, Isabelle Bigand”. They were released around 2 p.m. and are “Convened in August” in court, said Rachid Eddaidj, secretary general of ADP’s CFE-CGC.
Laurent Garssine, secretary general of UNSA at ADP, also announced by telephone to AFP his arrest by the police “With two heads of the CGT delegation”. “We are peaceful. We were doing a sit-in on the road and we were arrested because we did not have any ID “, he detailed. Mr. Garssine said he phoned Groupe ADP CEO Augustin de Romanet for him “To report repressions”.
Released with the other two trade unionists at the beginning of the afternoon, Mr. Garssine rebelled against ” violence “ of their arrest as “Leaders” of a demonstration “On public roads, outside the declared circuit”. According to him, Mmy Pigueron and Bigand were arrested as organizers of the demonstration.
Tear gas
These arrests made the national officials of the CFE-CGC and UNSA react on Twitter. The secretary general of the UNSA, Laurent Escure, described the arrest of demonstrators as“Intolerable”. “The management of #ADP calls on [représentants] union “, lamented the president of the CFE-CGC, François Hommeril. “But what is the main shareholder (the state) doing to end this social hell? “, he added.
What is happening on the social movement of Aéroports de Paris #ADP is intolerable! The @ UNSA_officiel asks the g… https://t.co/nKXmLDaUsH
Unbelievable ! In Orly, where employees are demonstrating against the plan which plans to lower wages by 10 to 25%,… https://t.co/9Yr71qVr3m
In Roissy, according to amateur videos, the police used tear gas to repel demonstrators who were walking on the roads leading to the airport.
In the afternoon, without the CFE-CGC, a meeting to “Come back to the incidents” brought together CGT, UNSA and management. “Everyone called for responsibility to find a way out of the social movement as quickly as possible”, said management, hoping that the next negotiation meeting on Monday morning can “To be conclusive”.
A meeting in which the CFE-CGC will participate, which “Expects management to assume its responsibilities” because “The employees are very unhappy”, insisted Rachid Eddaidj, of the CFE-CGC of ADP. “The employees are angry”, added Frédéric Lecocq, CGT union delegate. “From the start, they have been ready to make an effort, but a measured effort”, he said. For Mr. Garssine, the management wants “Appease” but it is she who has “Started an arm wrestling”.
Previously, a rally is scheduled for Saturday at 9 a.m. at Roissy, at terminal 2E. And the CGT has already filed a new notice for next Friday. The strikers are demanding the withdrawal of a plan to adapt work contracts, which provides for a reduction or elimination of bonuses. In the event of refusal, employees risk dismissal as part of a job protection plan.