French airport workers have called a strike to take place the week before the Paris Olympics begin at the end of July.
The CGT, CFDT, FO and UNSA unions called the strike on July 17, just nine days before the start of the Paris Games on July 26.
They demand that all staff receive an Olympic bonus and denounce “unilateral decisions by the CEO to pay a bonus to only part of the staff.”
The unions said they are “stopping their participation in all kinds of meetings with management” and calling “for a strike on July 17 to obtain satisfaction.”
The call came just hours after the left-wing coalition New Popular Front won first place in the second round of legislative elections, to the surprise of many.
The results showed just over 180 seats for the coalition, ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance with more than 160 seats and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party and its allies, which were restricted to third place.
The NFP is composed of several left-wing parties, including France Indeclinable (LFI), led by leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the Socialist Party (PS), the French Green Party (LE-EELV) and the French Communist Party (PCF).
French airport workers have called for a strike to take place in the week before the start of the Paris Olympics, scheduled for later this month. The Olympic rings are seen at Charles de Gaulle airport during an opening ceremony in April 2023
Leaders of the New Popular Front immediately put pressure on Macron to give them the first chance to form a government and propose a prime minister.
The faction is pledging to reverse many of Macron’s major reforms, embark on a costly public spending programme and take a tougher line against Israel over its war with Hamas.
But it is unclear, even on the left, who could lead the government without alienating crucial allies.
But as questions swirl around the future of French politics, the country’s unions wasted no time in capitalising on the left’s victory.
Unions at the state-controlled ADP Group, which runs Paris’s main airports, Charles de Gaulle and Orly, had previously called for a strike on May 19, but it did not cause major disruption.
The two airports will be the main gateway to France for foreign visitors attending the Olympics, with up to 350,000 people a day expected to pass through during the Games, in addition to most of the athletes and their equipment.
Thousands of athletes are expected to start arriving from 18 July when the athletes’ village opens, with a new large temporary baggage terminal at Charles de Gaulle set up to handle equipment such as kayaks, bicycles or pole vaulters.
Unions representing public sector workers in France have demanded extra pay or support for having to work during the Paris Games from July 26 to August 11, which fall during France’s traditional summer holidays.
Police, air traffic controllers, garbage collectors, central government employees, subway and train drivers and firefighters have all filed lawsuits, while their employers are under pressure to give in and avoid disruptions.
Workers at the national mint, which produces the medals, have also been on strike, but management says production has not been affected.
