Pension reform: on a hard strike, the lawyers of the 93 faced with tough choices

It is 9:15 a.m. on January 21, and the blue concrete and steel hall of the Bobigny Tribunal de Grande Instance (TGI) is almost empty. It has been two weeks since the lawyers of the Seine-Saint-Denis bar (93) voted a total strike to defend their pension plan. Extended until January 29 - at least - the movement is widely followed.

Like other bars in France, lawyers in 93 are multiplying actions, from the most traditional (demonstrations, banners), to the most original (throwing dresses, music videos, happening or even haka). On a daily basis, the strikers are mobilizing above all to obtain the postponement of the hearings. With success. In Bobigny, the judges agreed to postpone 80 to 90% of cases in correctional, and 100% of those of the juvenile court (TPE).

The Hakka of lawyers in #bobigny #reformedesretraites pic.twitter.com/nVu9inAQw0

People on the front line

But such an approach requires pedagogy. Myriam Baghouli walks the corridors of the TPE every day to explain the reasons for the strike to families awaiting a trial that will not take place. "We do not go on strike with gaiety of heart. We know very well what it costs litigants to see their trial postponed," assures France 24 the lawyer, specialist in minors and activist engaged in SAF, the Syndicate of lawyers of France.

The President of the Seine-Saint-Denis, Frédéric Gabet, does not lack examples to illustrate the prejudice of a dismissal: the detainee who comes to plead for his release; the precarious worker who will have to wait two more years to hope for compensation from the industrial tribunal; the woman who needs an expulsion measure for an abusive spouse; or the foreigner in an irregular situation who plays his entry into the territory in a hearing, not reportable.

"Almost all of the lawyers at the Bobigny bar are on strike and this often puts them face to face with ethical questions. Here, we plead a lot of vital cases. But we are a liberal profession and it is up to everyone to make decisions consciously ", underlines Frédéric Gabet.

"In Zapi, the only possible return is return to the country of origin"

There is no shortage of cases of conscience. However, the lawyers of 93 hold out and they want to explain why, especially to those who suffer most from their absence. This is why they went on January 21 to the waiting area for persons in waiting (Zapi) of Roissy. It is in this new fambant annex to the Bobigny court, established in 2017 at the foot of the slopes, that the files of foreigners who do not meet the conditions for entry to France are examined (absence of visa, proof of accommodation, return ticket, lack of financial means…).

"The only possible removal for them is removal to their country," admits Myriam Baghouli. On January 21, only three people were to appear, one of whom had recourse to the ex-officio commission - in the absence of legal counsel, the parties could obtain the assistance of a lawyer designated by the president of the court. But because of the strike, the "maintained" (a woman in an irregular situation) will be this Tuesday alone against the judge of liberties and detention (JLD). However, the strikers did not completely abandon him to his fate: if they refused to plead, they studied the file and distilled to their client the arguments necessary for her defense.

"We briefed the person, we presented him with the points of conclusion, the arguments to be argued, the nullities of the procedure. But it is true that he will have to argue alone", recognizes Me Catherine Herrero, "foreign" coordinator at the Zapi de Roissy. That day, the "maintained" requests the return to her country of origin. But holding their position is often a difficult choice for these committed lawyers.

"Fight now or die later"

While being particularly conciliatory at Bobigny, the judges themselves are beginning to worry about seeing "stocks accumulate" or heavy cases looming. "I have requests for continued detention that are coming. Aren't you setting up an emergency cell?" Inquired a worried judge among strikers encountered in the corridors of the TGI.

An option under debate, but not retained for the moment. "We are on a hard strike. We have no choice, we must fight now or die later. If we do not hold to the end, what good is it?" Insists Me Baghouli, who doesn’t do not plan to lift the stake before the complete withdrawal of the reform project.

To convince the judges to continue supporting their fight, she has the arguments. "The reform project will have a direct impact on the functioning of the TGI of Bobigny. The doubling of our contributions will force us to stop the commission ex officio or to increase our fees, which is not possible for the public of Seine -Saint-Denis ", she says before the judge sitting in courtroom n ° 6 of the 18th correctional chamber.

The TGI of Bobigny, the court of the poor

Being a lawyer in Seine-Saint-Denis is a commitment. It means joining a bar of more than 600 lawyers, but "on a human scale", explains the President of the Seine-Saint-Denis, Frédéric Gabet. "The TGI of Bobigny is a court of proximity, of humanity, where we meet surprising situations. This creates a solidarity between us which explains that the strike is also followed", continues the one who has worked there for 30 years.

For Myriam Baghouli, a child of 93 registered for eleven years at the Bobigny bar, there was no question of working elsewhere. "My dress is a vigilante's cloak. If I had wanted to do 'fus-acq' [merger-acquisition], I would not have signed up here!", She says happily. In other words: to be part of lawyers whose income exceeds 40,000 median euros, you have to practice elsewhere.

>> Our long format: "Seine-Saint-Denis: the forgotten of the Republic"

Second court of France and first for children, the TGI of Bobigny is located in the poorest department of France: 70% of the population is eligible for legal aid. The income of lawyers who have chosen to practice there is therefore also among the poorest in France.

"We are taken for the wealthy but what remains at the end of the month after payment of charges, contributions, cabinet fees rarely exceeds 1,500 euros", explains Anne Erminy, lawyer in Bobigny and voluntary office clerk at TPE. And it is not this last activity that rounds off the end of the month. "For a dozen ex-officio cases, I get 600 euros gross," she calculates. So, after 24 years at the bar, she thinks more and more regularly of quitting. Like others.

"If we double our contributions as provided for in the pension reform project, many people will no longer be able to make a living from their profession," says Frédéric Gabet. "Cabinets will disappear; judicial and legal deserts will result." Then the president of the bar is worried: "If there is no longer a local lawyer to ensure divorces, labor courts, placement of minors, in Seine-Saint-Denis, who will defend them?"

The pension reform project provides for the abolition of special schemes in favor of a universal system. It will therefore lead to the disappearance of the autonomous lawyers' regime - which is largely in surplus.

Liberal lawyers fear that their contributions will increase: with the new calculation method, these could double. Currently, their minimum retirement pension is set at 1,450 euros monthly. This sum would fall to 1,000 euros in the future regime. In addition, lawyers only contribute 14% of their income, a rate that would drop to 28%.

Faced with the tension, the Minister of Justice, Nicole Belloubet, proposed to the lawyers to keep a fund "specific to their profession". The government has also made proposals in the form of a 33% reduction applied to the lawyers' gross income base, in order to cushion the increase in contributions.

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