December 2024 strike: two new dates announced by the FNSEA, the Civil Service ready for action

The president of the FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau, announced two new dates for farmers' mobilization in December. The SNCF and the Civil Service have also planned actions in the coming days.

All sectors are mobilized in December to denounce working conditions, measures specific to their sector or to oppose the consequences of the bill concerning the 2025 budget in their profession. Friday, November 29, the president of the FNSEA – the leading French agricultural union – Arnaud Rousseau, announced two new days of mobilization that should be massively followed: December 9 and 10. As a reminder, farmers have been leading the largest mobilization since November 18 and the movement must continue at the end of the year.

In addition to their mobilization, there is that of the SNCF, which began on Thursday, November 21, but which could resume for an unlimited period in the coming days. At the SNCF, there is denunciation of the competition between certain lines and the dismantling of certain services, while among farmers, it is the working conditions and the free trade agreement with Mercosur that are crystallizing the anger. Finally, the Civil Service is protesting against the measures taken by its ministry on waiting days and compensation for sick leave. National Education, for its part, has planned a “strike across the country on December 5, 2024”, as announced in a press release published mid-November.

Farmers: new mobilizations on December 9 and 10

The farmers' mobilization has been uninterrupted since November 18th, at the call of the FNSEA and the JA, the majority union alliance. The Rural Coordination joined the movement on November 19th with more significant actions, including the blocking of certain roads such as the A9 between Spain and France and the blockades of purchasing centers. All the unions, including the Confederation Paysanne, have mobilized, and all plan to continue the movement in the coming days. The FNSEA has thus announced a new series of mobilizations from Monday, December 9 to Tuesday, December 10.

Farmers' mobilizations are diverse: roadblocks, occupation of roundabouts and roads, “fires of anger”, mobilizations in front of prefectures with dumping of manure or waste and other more significant actions such as blocking roads and purchasing centers, goods checks. More recently, this Thursday, November 28, they attacked public institutions, including ANSES and INRAE, by erecting symbolic walls in front of their entrances.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

Since then, the FNSEA has already planned new mobilizations “all over France” on December 9 and 10. This Friday, November 29, on RMC, the president of the leading agricultural union, Arnaud Rousseau, added that they will be: “around income, around the relationship with the price of our products, particularly in the context of the start of commercial relations, of negotiation with distributors”. He also aspires to “conclude the cycle” by meeting with Prime Minister Michel Barnier. “We need concrete results to be achieved,” he declared.

SNCF strike: a movement that will be renewed every 24 hours from December 11 ?

The threat of a rolling strike on SNCF trains starting next Wednesday, December 11 is fading. On Thursday, November 21, the strike movement presented as an “ultimatum” before this date, if no response was given to the inter-union demands, was only slightly followed. According to the CGT union, only one in four railway workers was on strike that day. A figure that is far removed from the level of mobilization of strikes in recent years. The disruptions on the rails were in fact concentrated solely on regional trains.

“The French don't want this Christmas strike, we understand them, and there is no reason, especially” declared Jean-Pierre Farandou, CEO of SNCF, on RTL. The CGT-Cheminots, Unsa-Ferroviaire, Sud-Rail and CFDT-Cheminots have called for a major movement in response to confirmation of the dismantling of Fret SNCF on January 1st and to denounce the opening up to competition. “I am quite doubtful about this social movement, especially since there are no other possible hypotheses” as this dismantling, announced the Minister Delegate aux Transports François Durovray.

Strike in the Civil Service: a day of "action' and "strike" on December 5

“The trade union organizations CGT, CFDT, UNSA, FSU, Solidaires, CFE-CGC and FA-FP are calling on civil servants to hold a day of action, rallies, demonstrations and strikes across the country on December 5, 2024”, they said in a press release published on November 14. An agreement was reached to organize a mobilization and oppose the measures desired by the government and Minister Guillaume Kasbarian concerning the extension of the waiting period for civil service workers to three days, compared to one day currently.

Only the FO union did not join the call and prefers to instead maintain its proposal to conduct a renewable three-day strike “at the same time as the railway workers' strike”, on November 21, the general secretary of the UIAFP-FO, Christian Grolier, told AFP. “We're going to take the minister's game at its word: three days of waiting, three days of strike”, he had already said the unionist after a meeting of the organizations with the minister.

There is also activity on the national education side with the filing of a social alert against job cuts, without, however, any calls for a strike, for the time being. Professionals in the health and social action sector have, however, filed a notice of a renewable strike in the inter-union. Municipal police officers also filed a strike notice on Friday, along with the National Public Security Union.