Free gas or electricity for schools or hospitals, recovery of cut off users: strikers in the energy sector carried out several so-called "Robin Hood" actions on Thursday to "intensify the balance of power" in the fight against pension reform, according to the CGT.
They have, throughout the day of this strike, "massively" carried out this type of action in the Paris region, "in Lille, Nantes, Lyon, Nice, Marseille, Saint-Nazaire" and elsewhere in the rest of France. , reported Sébastien Menesplier, secretary general of the CGT Mines Énergie, interviewed on BFMTV.
Invited to LCI this Friday morning, Sébastien Menesplier explained that the actions were voted on by the strikers at general meetings.
"Yesterday was significant and symbolic because the
Robin Hoods
acted in the common interest," he said.
“In a coordinated manner throughout the territory, this is undoubtedly a first”, indicated for his part Fabrice Coudour, federal secretary of the CGT Federation of Mines and Energy, which is also calling for a strike this Friday.
Power restored to users
According to a press release, “several hospitals or clinics, municipal ice rinks and swimming pools, public sports centers, public interest associations, libraries, colleges, high schools, nurseries, collective university or HLM heating systems , public lighting in small and medium-sized towns, social housing” were thus “placed with free electricity or gas”.
📢RETIREMENTS
🔴Les ROBINS des BOIS de l'ÉNERGIE at the service of the GENERAL INTEREST‼️
👏POSITIVE throughout the territory to lead us to VICTORY
💥ENERGY will be a tool of FIGHT
✊Let's ALL act TOGETHER for the #withdrawal of the #RéformeDesRetraites Borne-Macron
⬇️ CP #FNMECGT pic.twitter.com/F2yeqXSR8W
— FNME (@FNMECGT) January 26, 2023
On the other hand, “small businesses and artisans (bakers or others) or small businesses” have obtained a reduced energy rate.
Finally, users "cut off from electricity or gas despite the winter break, by unscrupulous suppliers", would have seen their access restored according to the union.
Targeted cuts "not relevant"
"This is only the beginning: we can do Robin Hood
actions
at any time," warned Fabrice Coudour, who calls for the movement to be further expanded to "build a great January 31", the date of the next national mobilization against the government's plan.
The strikers did not, according to Sébastien Menesplier, carry out targeted power cuts on Thursday, this option being “not relevant”, but “not set aside at all”.
"There will be targeted cuts if in general meetings, the agents decide them", and want to go "further than the strike", he added.
Read alsoPension reform: why targeted power cuts are never sanctioned
The CGT had proposed to close the taps of gas and electricity on the communes of elected representatives favorable to the reform, which the government had condemned.