At RATP, since the start of the strike, the mechanism is now well established. There is no centralized decision by the unions on the continuation of the movement: it is the general assemblies which are sovereign. In each depot (several dozen), line by line, the bus, metro or RER conductors come together and decide on the action to be taken.
This Monday, the strike was renewed everywhere, until Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, on the RER A and B, on lines 4, 5, 7, 9 or 12, etc. "But it's not in the GA that the strike ends. Those who come are those who want to strike, "argues a good connoisseur of RATP. The crowds in these GAs are therefore a good indicator. However, it seems to be slightly down.
The strikers will continue "until the reform goes away"
"There remains a hard core"
Another sign of breathlessness: unanimity is no longer automatic. Before, the movement was renewed as one man in each GA. This Monday, there were some voices for the resumption of work, others to fix a horizon of end of movement, for the next week. "There remains a hard core of more than 50% for the continuation of the strike until the withdrawal," said a driver on line 5, present this Monday at the GA in Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis).
A hard core galvanized on certain GAs by political representatives. This Monday morning, France Insoumise deputies Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Clémentine Autain were thus present with the RATP strikers, respectively in Vitry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne) and Pantin (Seine-Saint-Denis). These elected officials came to support the strikers, physically and financially affected by an exceptionally long movement.
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Despite everything, the questions arise among the strikers. “The movement is renewed, but agents resume work. They have bills to pay… We will have to observe the mobilization day by day this week, ”says a union official. This is a clear sign: the AG discussions on Monday also turned a lot on financial questions, in particular the payment of funds collected by the various solidarity funds. "We have discussed how to quickly provide aid to those of us most in need," said a union member.
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For this driver of line 5, the rest of the movement “depends on the commitment of other professions. The RATP cannot continue to be the spearhead alone ”. "We have the feeling that the government is about to give in," wants to believe another, by giving an appointment to the demonstration on Thursday. Some, however, regret the lack of coordination between the various protests, and accuse the trade union centers of not having been able to use popular support for the strikers to spread the movement.