“
We mobilized in the provinces and now we are going to make a mess of Paris!
»: in the back of a truck cluttered with loudspeakers, a trade unionist galvanizes several hundred police officers gathered in front of the Town Hall, amid the smells of merguez and smoke bombs.
Brandishing flags and large balloons in the colors of the National Alliance-Police and the Unsa-Police, representing the guards and the officers, the participants punctuate each slogan with a vigorous concert of whistles.
All responded to the call for "Black Thursday" launched by a union "bloc" to protest against what they call the "
vagueness
" and the "
lack of consultation
" concerning the "
100% mobilization
" requested of them Gérald Darmanin for the Olympic Games, from July 26 to August 11.
“
Less than six months from the inaugural ceremony and three months from the departure of the flame, no one knows in what sauce the policeman will be eaten,
”
thunders
Fabien Vanhemelryck, secretary general of Alliance before blurting: “
We don’t know nothing about working conditions and nothing either about the social support that awaits them, particularly for childcare in the middle of summer while they are on the move, sometimes far from their family.
The Olympics are looming while our colleagues, who have been under great pressure for more than four years, are being drained morally, physically and psychologically
.”
The cloth is burning
In Marseille, Lorient, Blois, Bourges, Nantes, Brest, Saint-Malo and even Rennes, the rag is on fire: officers gathered in front of police stations or on the streets to express their anger.
On the A9 motorway, they blocked the large Boulou toll barrier.
At Orly and Roissy airports, the deliberate systematization of identity document checks has caused up to two hours of flight delays.
“
In 70% of police stations, colleagues only go out for emergencies to anyone
,” squeaks a brigadier.
“
We are going to talk about recognition and leave, otherwise, the Olympics will be without us
,” the police chorused under the Paris sun.
Read alsoOJ 2024: how Darmanin tries to defuse discontent in the police
“
The police are ready to work this summer to protect the French but not at any cost
,” warns Olivier Varlet, boss of Unsa-police.
We must now know who will be hired, on a voluntary basis or not, what the work cycles will be and where the accommodation will be.
For now, we have no answer
.”
Thierry Clair, deputy general secretary of the union adds: “
On the operational level, the Ministry of the Interior and the police headquarters are ready to welcome the delegations, to set up security perimeters as well as alternating traffic, but we we have no answer in terms of human resources.
»
An envelope of 500 million
Well aware that the fire is smoldering, Gérald Darmanin received the unions last Tuesday before taking the plane for Reunion, affected by cyclone Belal.
According to our information, a total envelope of 500 million euros could be put on the table.
It would be devoted in particular to financing the issuance of service employment vouchers, subsidized stays in summer camps, nurseries or in leisure centers for the children of police officers kept away from the family home.
“Many colleagues are divorced, live as police couples or are in blended families
,” insisted before the holidays a field officer who did not intend to
“make
his family pay” for the future “
sacrifices
” to which he said he agreed.
Furthermore, an “
OJ
” bonus is at the heart of tough negotiations.
While the unions are putting pressure on in the hope of obtaining up to 2,000 euros per agent, the administration seems at this stage to want to stick to the current framework of the bonus won before Christmas by Gérald Darmanin from Élisabeth Borne , when she was still at Matignon.
“Worth 500 euros, it could be increased to 1,000 euros, or even 1,500 euros if the commitment is particularly exceptional ,
”
promised the host of Beauvau in a letter sent on December 22.
An expected “package of measures”
In addition to another public road bonus of 100 euros per month, promised in a protocol dating from 2022 but not yet released until now, the profession requires for the Olympics only a “
missional absence allowance
” in the amount of 50 gross euros per day is also paid to them, as long as the official leaves for a period of at least four days.
Anxious to offer a relief to units subject to high pressure and still marked by the violence of the riots which shook the country last summer, Gérald Darmanin announced on December 22 the possibility of taking “
two calendar weeks of leave, i.e. 10 working days for each agent, between June 15 and September 15.
”
But, within the troops, we believe that the account is not yet there.
Read alsoOJ 2024: “piling up of missions”, “insufficient bonuses”, “trimmed leave”, anger is brewing among the police
According to our information, the Ministry of the Interior should send a “
package of Olympic measures
” to the unions before the end of the month.
The Minister of the Interior is aware that security is the main key to the success of this global meeting and that nothing can be done without the maximum mobilization of the police.
Well aware of their position of strength, they intend to play the advantage until the end.