"There is no real progress, we will continue our mobilization against the closure of the Bourse du travail. It is a political decision, not an administrative one, as we are told. Like José Mendes, secretary of the administrative commission of the Bourse du travail and also general secretary of the CGT of Aubervilliers, the delegation of trade unions came out empty-handed from the meeting that took place this Friday, at the end of the morning, with the UDI mayor of Aubervilliers, Karine Franclet.
This meeting took place after the request made the previous evening by the demonstrators who had come to gather in front of the town hall. The activists wanted to be able to speak in front of the elected officials, during a suspension of the session, since a municipal council meeting was scheduled for 19 p.m. Believing that "it was not the time", Karine Franclet proposed an interview the next day, which led to the departure of the opposition as a sign of disapproval.
Due to the lack of a quorum and despite the epic attempt by the majority to bring in additional elected members of its team who were trapped outside by the gathering, the council was unable to resume. It has been postponed to 17 November.
"Common home", "common good"...
"The demonstrators have decided to virulently block the access of elected officials to our common home. It's serious enough to underline it," said Karine Franclet. The wording, which is not insignificant, strongly echoes the words that the unions make about the Labour Exchange, described as a "common good" or a "public good", for the role it plays in supporting workers and residents.
"The Bourse du travail is the only place financed by the municipality, which is both independent of the mayor and the leaders, but also plural: we ourselves, among the unions, do not agree," says Anouk Colombani, a member of the local union Solidaires d'Aubervilliers. This is an important breath of fresh air of democracy. It's a right we've earned. José Mendes agrees: "Closing the Bourse du travail is like closing a hospital. »
"We are talking about the common good used in a private and oversized way. It's outside the scope of municipal jurisdiction in a context of a shortage of venues," says Karine Franclet.
The city therefore re-explained its position to the unions, particularly in relation to the cost of the site. And it confirmed that it would put an end to the agreement for the provision of premises, in favour of associative life and with the possibility for workers' organisations to book rooms.
The support committee will continue its mobilization with market information actions, a petition — which had collected more than 500 signatures as of Friday evening — and other operations.