Nadine opens the iron door of the hall that was once the entrance to the Paris station Charonne and it hangs. He expected people, but not that many. The meeting of the action committee of the “General Strike Network” it started less than half an hour ago and there is no more seating. Marion, in the front row, nods to her. Then she lowers her head and tweets live on the group’s official account: “We are 150”. Nadine, who is a professional the bus driver in the suburbs and has been on continuous strike since March 7, she stands still at the door to listen to her comrades and books herself in for an intervention. TO Paris it was just after 7pm of a very long day of strikes, “wild” protests and blockades. Most of those present spent the morning blocking trucks at the entrance to an incinerator. It was just after dawn and now we already have to think about the next action and, above all, get ready for the tenth day of the general strike. The climate is heavy: the latest massive demonstration has lifted morale and the increasingly harsh repression by the police has unleashed a new wave of indignation. But keeping up the pace, after almost three months, is tough. And the militants are increasingly tired. “That’s why we’re here tonight, because now we have to organize ourselves to resist,” he says Laura opening the meeting. “We cannot afford to waste energy”. The applause starts.
The audience is mixed: sitting in the dim light of the club golden arrow, which is so called because the historic London-Paris trains departed from here, there are faces of all ages. And above all different professions: railway workers, teachers, nurses, librarians, civil servants. The evening is not open to everyone: the appeal started online, but only after a brief interview via email was it possible to know the address. Who you are, what work you do and what area you live in: the purpose of the meeting is operational and only those who can lend a concrete hand are admitted. Also because the movement is at a crossroads. “I work for the railways in Paris Nord”, Laura begins. “We’re here tonight to confront each other and sort of staff of the activity in the Paris region. For a few days we have seen that there is a change in the mobilization. After a very controlled phase, there are now many spontaneous actions. And then the younger ones are also joining, which was not the case until recently and which is bringing strength to all workers. They take to the streets not only for retirement, but also for wages, living conditions and against this political system. Having an angry youth on our side is very important”. Laura shouts into the microphone: she wants to be heard well, but above all to convince even the most demoralized. It is tiring, she says, but faced with “such a weak government”, “we must and can organize ourselves”. Because it’s now or never. “The difference is being made by the axis between various workers. We are not alone”. And she starts listing the latest actions: last Friday, for example, they filled two buses to reach the Gonfreville-l’Orcher refinery in Normandy and 200 supported the comrades forced by the government to return to work. “Monday morning we stood in front of the incinerator in Ivry”, at the gates of Paris, “and thanks to the massive presence of demonstrators we blocked the trucks”. The problem, concludes Laura, “now is being able to extend the strikes. To do this we need many committees like the one tonight ”.
He starts turning the microphone and takes turns speaking. Not everyone knows each other: the goal was to involve different networks and open up a dialogue. Among the main organizers of the meeting is a small far-left party (Permanent Revolution) and its leader, anasse kazib, who is also a railway worker and trade unionist Sud Rail. “We have to get other people to go on strike,” she says. “And to do this we must widen our watchwords, which must also concern inflation e salary”. Kazib is worried about the morale of those on strike: “We are at the end of the month, the paychecks are starting to arrive and there isn’t enough money to pay the rent or eat. That’s how they want to get us to give up. We need to raise funds for the strike coffers and help our comrades”. Also listening to him, camouflaged in the crowd, is the two-time César award-winning actress Adele Hanael: she was with them on Friday for the solidarity picket for those who work in the refineries, she also returned for the organizing committee. She doesn’t speak, but at the end of the night she agrees to make a fundraising video that is launched online.
The microphone turns again and takes the floor a Tgv technician that from ten days ago wildcat strike, or does not respect the shifts requested by the company to guarantee a minimum service. He wears overalls and says that every day, together with his colleagues, they place the protest flag on the roof of the office and every evening it is taken down. “It’s a symbol, but it’s important. We are shocked why one of our comrades lost an eye during the last demonstration. I’ve been working there since I was 15 and he was the first to welcome me. We are all shocked by what happened to him. I promise you that in the next few hours there will not be a single train that will leave and we will do it for our companion”. Also comes the turn of Nadine. “I have been on strike for almost a month. Every day I leave the house and I don’t know which protest action I will end up with. Note that this spontaneity is essential because it is disorienting them. For the rest, the effort is to be taken into account. We know it works like this and we can’t be scared right now ”.
Above all, the government’s reaction against the marches is worrying. “It’s a very powerful strategy,” he says Gabriel who presents himself as a radical ecologist. “They know that if you are beaten during a protest, it will be difficult for you to return to the square. Because there are physical wounds, but also psychological ones”. The images of what happened at the March 26 demonstration against the a Sainte Soline everyone has seen them. And the latest news speaks of two hospitalized militants who are between life and death. “Some say it marked a tipping point for the police. I say that it is the resumption of a way of acting that they have always had”. Precisely the repression of the forces of order, however, opens up a new axis within the movement. He says it Stéphane who intervenes for the students and reports the words of his classmates: “Know that in these hours there have been highly attended assemblies both in universities and high schools. They are on our side and the outrage over the police’s behavior has only strengthened their motivations.” In the meantime, the Reseau has organised: Joshua he is a jurist and has set up a collective with a toll-free emergency number for anyone who needs legal defence. “Call us if you need to,” he says before returning to his seat.
It’s been almost three hours and still no one has left. The closure is still up to Laura: “We knew that Macron and his would have reacted. Now the question is: are we ready to react and oppose a government that has never been so weak?”. Everyone applauds: it’s not easy, but whoever has come this far will try. In the meantime, she turns over the sheet to collect the cell phone numbers: small committees will be set up divided by area and they will already be contacted in the next few hours for the blockades. Before going Kazib calls to order: there is a support video to be made for Mehdi, one of their own who was targeted and massacred online by the far right. The hall rises and intones one of the choirs of the procession “pour la grève generale”. It’s still just the beginning, they swear.