It’s not just terrorist threats that the French authorities have to worry about ahead of the Paris Olympics. The games, which start later this month, could also be hit by crippling strikes, a leading trade unionist has warned.
Sophie Binet, leader of the CGT labour union, hinted that the Olympics could be disrupted if President Emmanuel Macron does not let a left-wing alliance govern following the ambiguous result of the July 7th legislative elections.
Binet criticised Macron’s decision to postpone the appointment of a new government as risking “plunging the country into chaos.”
The union chief said that “all of us should take part in … gatherings to keep the National Assembly under scrutiny and ensure that the people’s vote is respected”—that is, to ensure a left-wing government is appointed.
Binet added that “at this stage, we haven’t planned any strikes during the Olympics, but if Macron continues to throw petrol on to the flames…” She did not finish her sentence, but the threat of disruptive strike action during the games was clear.
Hélène de Lauzun, The European Conservative’ Paris correspondent, earlier today described the beleaguered president as being
in favour of continuing, under a different name, the centrist policy he has pursued until now, based on a relative majority with occasional support from the Left or the centre-right depending on the issue—on the Right for immigration, on the Left for societal demands such as abortion or euthanasia.
Other workers, including in the transport industry, were already preparing to strike over the Olympics amid various disputes, including over pay.