The clamor which multiplies is more due to secessions of the plebs than to imperial triumphs. In March, they were several dozen to bustle around the podium of the Maison Carrée in Nîmes, one of the best-preserved Roman temples of antiquity: the orange vests which were then activated, in the ancient Nemausus n 'were not mythical barbarians armed to the teeth, but demonstrators, technicians and researchers with signs. Archaeologists on strike. Perhaps the same to whom we owe the discovery of Gallic remains near the Magne tower, or the
unearthing
of a
domu
s Roman not far from the Maison Carrée.
For several months, all have been calling for a massive hiring policy and a deferred salary increase for nearly twenty years.
Either since the beginnings of Inrap.
Read also: Mansions of the Roman elite, two rich domus discovered near the Maison Carrée in Nîmes
Established by the law of January 2001 then inaugurated the following year, the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research is preparing to blow out its twentieth candle in the coming months. A public body responsible for diagnoses and excavations carried out upstream of construction sites, Inrap is one of the major players in archeology in Europe, where the structure has hardly any equivalent. From the Roman villas of Aquitaine to the Venus of Amiens through the pre-Columbian occupation of the Antilles and the Merovingian tombs of Luxeuil, the Institute's discoveries are readily invited to the front page of the press where they exercise a capacity for wonder. And yet.
Inrap archaeologists - here on the Exideuil site (16) - are calling for an increase in wages, a more active hiring policy as well as better working conditions. Guillaume Teillet
Behind the influence of the profession, the 2,000 or so contract agents who devote themselves to silent works of archeology struggle to feel esteemed. This precious pool is today undermined by the aging of the staff - nearly 800 archaeologists are expected to retire in the next ten years - and by a salary scale which, without change for 20 years, does not offer novice archaeologists barded with diplomas that a pittance. Paradoxical situation at a time when the French institution can boast of an abundant record in terms of excavations, the women and men of Inrap feel forgotten by their two supervisory ministries - that of Culture and that of Higher Education and Research. A real Gordian knot for Inrap, when theinstitution is preparing preventive archeology for the next 20 years.
Read also: In Luxeuil-les-Bains, the Merovingian era is revealed on the surface of the earth
Wages of the Stone Age
“We have the lowest salaries in the public service,”
deplores archaeologist Séverine Hurard, SGPA-CGT Culture co-secretary general.
60% of colleagues at Inrap are in category 3, whose salary, with 15 years of experience, is set at 1,700 euros per month. What is more, between 2002 and today, we have all lost 500 euros net per month. ”
An observation shared by his co-secretary Pierre Pouenat, who denounces the progressive
“smicardisation”
of archaeologists for 20 years.
“An agent who starts on a fixed-term contract is in category 2, therefore below the minimum wage, which obliges the employer to pay a differential allowance. As for category 5, that of research engineers, its first level is located at 1.25 the minimum wage ”,
he explains.
This lack of salary consideration affects all Inrap archaeologists, from newcomers to seasoned veterans, according to archaeologist Michel Tauveron:
“With 30 years of archeology behind me and an authorization to direct research, I am paid royally, on the site where I am, 1850 euros gross, as an excavation technician ”.
"We are paying the side of the working poor,"
sums up Pierre Pouenat bitterly.
Excavation site on the south square of Notre-Dame cathedral, in Rouen, in 2019. Sylvain Mazet / Inrap
Mobilized for months, the inter-union denounces
"alms"
advanced by the Ministry of Culture. Since the last discussions, on May 26, the unions have however recognized proposals
"which are going in the right direction"
, with the track of an increase in compensation from 100 to 120 euros net per month for 2022, as well as a revaluation of the salary grid for 2023. Pending the next meeting in June, Benoît Oliveau, CNT-CCS manager, stresses that the account is not there yet and that the amount of the allowance as the
“vague promise”
of improvements must be specified. These aspirations are in any case shared by the president of Inrap, Dominique Garcia.
“It's not luxury, it's normal and the management and its supervisors have been doing everything for many months to bring this file to fruition. However, we must build a rapid and durable system that does not jeopardize the establishment, ”he
explains.
Less visible in the spring than the movement to occupy the theaters or the demonstrations against the reform of unemployment insurance, the mobilization of archaeologists should not therefore run out of steam.
“We have a rich history of collective and union struggles and actions in this establishment, but this is the first time that we really fight for our salaries,”
notes Pierre Pouenat.
And for good reason, the creation of Inrap was the point of arrival of nearly 30 years of pioneering archeology that half of the current agents lived and actively contributed to bring about.
Read also: In Nîmes, Gallic and Roman remains unearthed near the Tour Magne
The old guard of rescue archeology
The Inrap has, so to speak, leaped fully armed from Jupiter's thigh. This one was called the Afan. Created in 1973, the Association for National Archaeological Excavations is the institutional matrix, the parent company of preventive archeology, then more bluntly referred to as rescue archeology. Its pioneering era, one of all difficulties, was marked by occupations of sites and excavations carried out in parallel with construction sites.
“At the time, we were a bit of a Samu of archeology,”
recalls Dominique Garcia who, like other researchers of his generation, has first-hand experience of this period.
"We came in the evening, on weekends, when the construction work stopped, and we tried to save as many remains as possible with little means."
In the absence of a regulatory framework, conflicts between excavators and planners more than once turn to the balance of power.
“Everything was negotiated on a case-by-case basis
,” recalls Séverine Hurard.
There have been cases where colleagues have been on the verge of chaining themselves to mechanical machinery so that the site does not follow its course. "
Parisian procession of archaeologists on strike, in 1997. At the time, the entire archeology sector was moved and revolted by the voluntary destruction of ancient remains in Rodez (Aveyron) by property developers, with the downstream - in November 1996 - from Alain Juppé, then Prime Minister. Marc talon
Over the years, heritage scandals multiply and bring to light the insufficient supervision of these excavations. A fiasco too much led, from 1997, to the organization of preventive archeology and the creation of Inrap, built on the ashes of Afan and on the experience of its agents. A few months of monopoly which ended with the opening up to competition, from 2003, and the violent repercussions of the economic crisis of 2008 opened up for the hardened grognards of rescue
archeology. 'Inrap, it was a war for the survival of the establishment
, notes Benoît Oliveau
. We have seen private clubs carve out croupiers for us. ”
Not yet president at that time,Dominique Garcia also evokes years
“Very difficult”
for Inrap, with a multiplication of private players at the height of the crisis, marked by a contraction in the number of developments, and therefore of sites.
The situation has since returned to a point of equilibrium, although the tensions have changed in nature.
Read also: "An act of nameless stupidity": an archaeological site vandalized in Finistère
Because the most venerable archaeologists of Inrap are now approaching the end of their careers. One third of the workforce should therefore be replaced in the coming years; an unprecedented challenge for the Institute.
“The first generation of archaeologists who invented preventive
measures are
retiring,”
observes Séverine Hurard. However, like French society, the average age of staff at Inrap is too advanced and created an imbalance.
“We have a completely inflated age pyramid
,
”
says Benoît Oliveau.
"We will have to recruit!"
.
The bleeding which is just beginning should accelerate in the coming years, helped by the departure of agents frustrated by the obligation to abandon promising projects for lack of resources.
In addition, there is the precarious status of the new excavators, kept on short contracts.
"By dint of having the impression of purging sites for construction, rather than doing archeology for archeology, we sometimes lose the meaning of our missions, to no longer know why we are working »,
Summarizes Séverine Hurard.
The archaeologist's work is not limited to the actual excavations.
Here, a specialist takes photographs at the Inrap archaeological research center in Nîmes, in 2011. Myr Muratet / Inrap
New generations, new specialties
A permanent recruitment plan was relaunched in 2020. 16 new archaeologists joined Inrap last year and 75 positions were opened for applications in April in order to
"prepare for the renewal of skills and ensure the transmission of knowledge"
.
In all, 800 agents are expected to be hired by 2032
.
Among the profiles sought: specialists in polluted and difficult-to-access areas, anthropologists, building archaeologists, geophysicists ... A plan welcomed in principle by union officials who nevertheless fear
"advertisement effects"
followed by recruitments. fewer staff and a delay in staff turnover.
“Each year, we have an average of 60 people who leave the establishment,”
warns Séverine Hurard. Despite the certain aura that surrounds the profession, filling departures, voluntary or not, is not easy. Apart from the high level of qualification, the physical and painful daily life of the profession put off more than one archeology student.
“Between the image of Épinal and the reality of an excavation scheduled for the summer, there is already a very big gap; and in preventive it is even more difficult and trying, because of the pace imposed by the deadlines to be respected
, she observes.
It is formidable, there is no rest for the brave. ”
Underwater archeology should develop in the coming years (photo: archaeologists off La Possession, in Reunion, in 2012).
Jean-François Rebeyrotte / Inrap
Read also: The Roman treasure of the Rhône threatened by submarine pirates
Despite these looming demographic turbulences, the coming years could see Inrap explore new fields of prospecting, particularly internationally and under the sea.
“We have notably excavated in Cambodia, Angkor, but also in Algeria ... Today Inrap is contacted everywhere for its scientific and cultural know-how; in England, in Italy, in Peru… ”,
assures Dominique Garcia. With Inrap, a new French school of archeology is shining and can, with good reason, be proud of it.
“Almost the entire European community envies us for the establishment,”
notes Benoît Oliveau. The coasts and rivers should in particular see an influx of researchers in the coming years.
“The law on preventive archeology has only been applied to the maritime domain for two years,”
Dominique Garcia underlines enthusiastically. The laying of submarine cables or the construction of wind farms thus present new projects, both in metropolitan France and overseas.
So many perspectives which, despite the difficulties, reinforce the attachment of Inrap archaeologists to their house.
“We are all very proud of the establishment, even if its dignity has been eroded in recent years,”
adds Séverine Hurard.
“Many colleagues feel a certain pride in working at Inrap for what it represents today but also for everything it has represented, for everything that has had to be done to achieve its creation. We would like this structure to remain the house that we have dreamed of so much for years and that we have won hard "
. The age of Inrap's pioneers is coming to an end. With new archaeologists, new salaries and renewed confidence, perhaps a golden age will in turn take off within the discreet institution whose Parisian headquarters are installed - it cannot be invented - rue from Alésia.