Europe 1 with AFP 19:26 p.m., March 28, 2023

In the middle of a new day of mobilization in the streets against the pension reform, the delegates present at the 53rd Congress of the CGT rejected Tuesday the activity report of the outgoing leadership. This is a major setback that revives the suspense over the name of the Secretary General who will succeed Philippe Martinez.

The delegates present at the 53rd Congress of the CGT rejected Tuesday the activity report of the outgoing leadership, a major setback that revives more than ever the suspense concerning the name of the secretary general who will succeed Philippe Martinez. The trade union representatives voted against the report with 50.32% of the votes cast. During the debates, the leadership had been the target of multiple criticisms on its orientations as well as on the lack of internal democracy within the CGT.

The idea of "mediation" on pensions denounced

Several speakers denounced the approval by Philippe Martinez of the idea of a "mediation" on the issue of pensions, advanced Tuesday morning by his counterpart of the CFDT Laurent Berger. According to Jean-Marie Pernot, a political scientist specializing in trade unions, there is no precedent in the modern history of the CGT.

"It is a disavowal of everything that has been carried out by the outgoing leadership," Céline Verzeletti, co-secretary general of the UFSE (Federal Union of State Trade Unions), told the press. This election is a "vote by mandates", which means that the vote of each delegate was "well debated" within the unions, "it is not a vote of mood (...) So this is not a small signal sent to the outgoing leadership," she stressed. Céline Verzeletti said she was "available" to take the lead of the CGT on a line of rupture, facing the candidate designated by the outgoing leadership, Marie Buisson.