French airport workers strike over ‘right to strike’

Leaving behind baggage halls, security posts and cabin trolleys, French aviation workers staged a nationwide strike on Monday against a law which they say will impede their right to strike. At Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports near Paris, hundreds of strikers gathered outside to demonstrate, stopping traffic between terminals.

The draft law causing the dispute was approved by France’s lower house in January and is currently being studied by the Senate. If passed, French aviation workers will be required to individually forewarn their bosses at least 48 hours before taking strike action.

The French government argues that the bill will protect passengers from travel delays, but the workers say it infringes on strict French labour rights laws, which stipulate that every worker has the right to strike without warning.

“An employee can’t be expected to ask their boss to go on strike,” explained Akakpu, a freight handler who has worked at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport for over 19 years. “If they don’t have a good working relationship, which is more likely the case since they need to strike, then how do you expect them to get permission from their boss? It will most likely cost them their job.”

Another demonstrator, 55-year-old Mr Lentenff, said that going on strike was the last resort for workers but an essential negotiation tool. “Most of us are very poorly paid,” he said. “We can’t afford to lose our only negotiation tool against our employers. This law would do that.”

Mr Lenteff has worked as a baggage handler for 33 years at the airport. “It is part of our job to make sure planes take off on time, so striking is not something we ever want to have to resort to. We’re here today because if we lose the right to strike, we lose the right to negotiate. That’s not normal.”

“Worth the wait” for delayed French passengers

The strike affected only around 15 to 20 per cent of Air France flights according to the airline; unions claim this number reached 50 per cent. Most other airlines managed to maintain their regular schedules. But heavy snowfall on Monday caused disruptions to flights in and out of the south-east of the country, adding to setbacks and missed connections.

Valérie, a passenger from Nice who was returning from Cuba with her husband and friends, found herself doubly delayed. “First we got stuck because of the snow and now we’re stuck in Paris because of the industrial action,” she explained, surveying the cheering crowds outside. She refused to blame the strikers for her wait at Paris Charles de Gaulle however. “We have the right to strike in France and we need to hold on to that,” she said. “Even if it means waiting a few more hours for our plane.”

Barthes, an elderly passenger from Toulouse, also sympathised with the strikers. “Yes we want to get home and it’s true that the workers should give notice if they plan to go on strike,” he said. “But the government is trying to squeeze their rights by making it mandatory. If they go ahead with it, then it’s an attack on our rights as French citizens.”

But Transport Minister Thierry Mariani vowed to go ahead with the law despite the protests. "We will go all the way. This is necessary and the French people understand that," he said on RTL radio.

A heavy police presence overshadowed the demonstration at Charles de Gaulle on Monday morning. Riot police surrounded the marchers, and also guarded the entrance to the airport and the Air France check-in desk inside. As the protesters made their way from terminal 2C to 2F, tear gas was fired into the crowd, sparking anger among the protesters. “Why are they firing at us?” asked Akakpu. “This is a peaceful protest. It’s pure provocation.”

The strikes are planned to continue until Thursday.

Protesters are accompanied by dozens of riot police and vans as they make their way from one terminal section of Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport to another. Photo: Sophie Pilgrim/ FRANCE 24. Police surround the hundreds of protesters outside the airport, north of Paris. Photo: Sophie Pilgrim/ FRANCE 24. Airport cafe workers take their cigarette breaks amid the hullabaloo outside. Photo: Sophie Pilgrim/ FRANCE 24. Riot police control the entrance to the terminal. Photo: Sophie Pilgrim/ FRANCE 24. Riot police are deployed as far as downstairs, out of earshot of the protest, in connecting corridors. Photo: Sophie Pilgrim/ FRANCE 24. Delayed passengers survey the protest from inside the terminal. Photo: Sophie Pilgrim/ FRANCE 24. Drivers honk their horns as the protest spills out into the road, stopping traffic, including the bus to Disneyland, from leaving the terminal. Photo: Sophie Pilgrim/ FRANCE 24. A notice from Air France apologising for delays. Photo: Sophie Pilgrim/ FRANCE 24. Travelers read a notice warning them of delays. Photo: Sophie Pilgrim/ FRANCE 24. A fourth police line awaits any attempt by protesters to enter terminal 2F, here, at the gates to the Air France check-in. Photo: Sophie Pilgrim/ FRANCE 24.