Strike of November 5: "The feedback is very strong, because the strike will be very strong tomorrow", assures Thomas Vacheron, confederal secretary of the CGT

This text corresponds to part of the transcription of the duel above. Click on the video to watch it in full. Perrine Storme: Obviously, tomorrow, everyone will scrutinize the figures of this mobilization which are essential to establish a balance of power with the government.

According to information, the State expects between 500,000 and 700,000 demonstrators, outside the Paris metropolitan area. What are the improvements on your side? Do you expect a massive mobilization?

Thomas Vacheron: The feedback is very strong, because the strike will be very strong tomorrow. In fact, tomorrow, there will be several specificities. Already, it has been more than a year since there has been an interprofessional strike of the public and private sector, young people and retirees.

It's been more than 20 years since there has been such a significant mobilization of young people, and there is reason to be angry, we have heard from young people for weeks, who had not been, they had to mobilize in an extraordinary way for the government to finally respond in part. So, mobilization is useful since the government is moving. We must continue to transform the essay.

And finally, I arrive from Brussels. I was with my European colleagues. All European unions support the mobilization in France because they know that what is happening here will have repercussions elsewhere.

You hope it catches on in Europe too. In any case, are there any common demands? Yes.

For example, our friends and the employees of Belgium, in the private sector, and this is the big issue tomorrow, they have something very important: when prices increase, salaries also increase. There is no decline in prices. And it is very important economically, because it allows a country like Belgium, which is industrialized, neighboring ours, to have lower inflation and higher growth.

What does that allow? This is because concretely, when prices increase, wages also increase, we do not lose our standard of living. And that is a very important victory that we want to attack them at home.

We want to win it here. I come back to the figures, because they are essential, and I imagine that it is always complicated to risk giving a figure. Nevertheless, it will be a test day for the government, but a test day for the unions on their ability to mobilize.

We remember that during the major demonstrations against the pension reform: at the peak of the demonstrations in 2023, we reached, according to the unions, three million people in the streets. Do you think you will be able to unite as much tomorrow? In fact, what's going to happen tomorrow is that, first of all, it's the biggest strike since retirement, that's for sure.

Machine-translated from French