The man who can stop Sarko, perhaps

France is awaiting the results of a big match this week -- and not the rugby world cup. Thursday marks the first and possibly crucial play-off in the contest between Nicolas Sarkozy and the labour unions which are determined to block his march to reform.

I have just spent an interesting hour with Bernard Thibault, boss of the CGT, the biggest and most militant of the French unions, ahead of the one-day national strike by rail workers and the Paris transport system.  Thibault is the man who, as a young rail union leader, brought down Alain Juppé, Jacques Chirac's first Prime  Minister, with strikes that paralysed the country for weeks. That was in 1995 and much has changed since then but the issue remains the same: the privileged retirement system enjoyed by public sector workers.

Thibault, 48, a likeable communist with ideas in tune with his early Beatles haircut, stands for everything about France that sends Sarko into despair: intransigent, bloody-minded resistance to reform. He is predicting a mass walk-out to make Thursday's one-day stoppage a clear warning to Sarko to back off. 

Thibault, who chatted to me in his office atop the vast CGT headquarters in Montreuil, on the east of Paris, acknowledges that Sarko was elected to reform, but les salariés (wage-earners) are beginning to realise that they were swindled, he said. Workers will be impoverished by reforms to retirement rules, pensions, working hours, labour contracts and unemployment benefit and all the rest of Sarko's recipe for putting France back to work, he says. "No-one contests the election of  the President but that doesn't mean that he has carte blanche to put into force everything he wants. There is a lot of discontent building and people count on the unions," he said.

"This is 2007, so it's difficult to say that history will repeat itself, but there is a lot of anger and readiness for industrial action. We are not aiming to produce the same kind of strikes as before, but if the Government digs in its heels, it's possible that we end up with the same paralysis."

Thibault signals with twinkling blue eyes that he knows that public support is no longer there for a show-down over the privileges of the rail, power and other public sector workers. He also acknowledges that France has a huge problem financing its welfare system when it has about the lowest employment level in Europe -- with the young entering work late, high unemployment and firms encouraging early retirement.

But he will not budge because concession here would mean letting the enemy within the gates. He also has to keep up the hard line because he is being jostled by radicals in his own movement who believe he is too soft on the bosses already.

Thibault has been struggling to maintain his image as the hard man among the leaders of the five big unions. The other four, led by François Chérèque of the CFDT, are more open to reform. Unlike Thibault, they have accepted invitations from Sarko to talk with him not just at the Elysée palace but over meals at Paris restaurants. 

He acknowledges that there is some play-acting involved. He is careful to wear a frown whenever he is filmed meeting Sarkozy. "He wondered to me why I never smiled when I come out of meetings with him," said Thibault. "I didn't reply but he must have figured out that I know a thing or two about image as well."

Thibault is furious that Sarkozy is managing to give the impression of listening to the unions with his frequent consultations, while showing no readiness to modify his rush to reform. In his view, Sarko's attempts to loosen up the labour law, reform pensions, push back retirement and extend working hours are all aimed at making life miserable for those in comfortable long-term jobs, especially those in the public sector where the CGT has its base.

"It's all about image. There's no real negotiation," he says in the gravelly Paris accent that sounds good booming through a megaphone at street marches. "The government stages a lot of photo-ops with the union bossses, but they only want to talk about decisions that they have already taken."

It's difficult to get through to the human being behind the class war discourse, but it's obvious that Thibault, a motor-cycle fanatic and bon vivant off duty, is not quite such a Marxist dinosaur as he makes out. He concedes that globalisation is changing the nature of industrial relations and that France has to find a way of stimulating employment and paying for an ever-growing army of pensioners. He would also like the CGT, a Soviet-style apparatus with hundreds of different branches, to accept internal change more quickly. But, he says, his job is to stick up for les salariés while les patrons (the bosses) take care of their interests.

In the meantime, he says that he wants to put Sarkozy on notice not to make the mistake of Dominique de Villepin, President Chirac's last Prime Minister. His political future died when he surrendered in 2005 to protests and strikes over a youth employment reform. "Governments relax when they they manage to get their way on five or six reforms," said Thibault. "They don't realise that the seventh will be the one that sets off the explosion."

Comments

[JackieZ]

Charles, you seem to get the point that this is about theatre. Thibault is, in English terms, a good ham actor. He knows perfectly well what the score is but he's taking care of la base. The langue de bois is meant to reassure the troops. He is no fool. And quite cute in a funny way.

[John Gregory Flinn]

...he says. "No-one contests the election of the President but that doesn't mean that he has carte blanche to put into force everything he wants...

Sounds like the rhetoric for opening negotiations to me.

M.Sarkozy may be just a tad too ambitious - taking them all on at once. Although when the British miners were challenged a second time their Union split and the strike crumbled giving Mrs T victory. So, if this challenge is in any way analogous (to Alain Juppé's defeat) lets hope the Marxists are routed.

[azloon]

[In his view, Sarko's attempts to loosen up the labour law, reform pensions, push back retirement and extend working hours are all aimed at making life miserable for those in comfortable long-term jobs] Thibault

well, we know this guy isn't a total ignoramus.

it's a good thing for him he doesn't have to deal with ronald reagan (who fired, and never rehired, thousands of striking air controllers).

there really are communists in france? and people take them seriously? you'd think, in this day and age, it would be a little embarrassing to describe yourself as a communist in a western democracy.

[Daniel Strohl]

"is not nearly such a Marxist dinosaur as he makes out".

Yes sure, he is much more open minded than a great part of his troops, which are still mentally back in 1936, due to heavy and continuous brain washing they were submitted to since decades.

He tries to change things and mentalities in "la CGT", but let me use again an image I had earlier on this blog : it is not easy to turn hounds drilled for war into blind guiding hounds.

PS : this morning, I went to the central post office in Colmar, which is close of "la préfecture". On a parking lot (place Rapp) located a few yards away from the préfecture, CGT people (pardon - des militants CGT !) were busy constructing a propaganda tent and had a staple of CGT banners ready to be unfolded. I was wondering what was going on - now that I have read CB's (excellent) article, I have got it ...

[Maggie G]

Mr Bremner, I had no idea that Bernard Thibault was not "nearly such a Marxist as he makes out". For me, and probably for most of the rest of us here, he represents the very WORST thing about France.

And now you are telling us he doesn't even really truly BELIEVE in what he's doing!

What DOES he believe in? Doesn't he feel a bit guilty about bringing down entire governments just to play a role?

You mean he is doing all this just to keep his job? Because unemplayment is so bad in France?

This is sheer madness!!

He should try the movie business. Surely he would have no trouble winning an Academy award. And maybe with him out of the way, France could PROGRESS a little.

[Jorg Andersen]

I agree that this old Bolshevik union is far behind the times and represents what has held back France for years.... but, the wheel is turning full circle. Thibault is right about globalisation leading to the exploitation of workers. There has to be some organisation of their defence on a global scale like there was a century ago on the national scale. I am a banker, so I'm not coming at this as a Marxist. It's just obvious that capital now has the upper hand and things need to be balanced again.

Azloon,

"you'd think, in this day and age, it would be a little embarrassing to describe yourself as a communist in a western democracy"

Let me remind you that Ronald Reagan is now long dead... Bernard Thibault is not. Welcome in 21th century! ;))

Charles,

I saw you today on television! you were the "star from the times" eventhough you obviously had a hard time trying to convince your french colleagues that sex life was part of politics!

I personnally was happy to see that many journalist did not surrender to this point of view yet! Tilinac's words were those i could have mentionned myself! (eventhough i have not read a single book of this official chirac's author)

[Julie D]

I saw you on Canal + Charles. Très cool, les anglais. I didn't know you had grey hair, but still....

[Dominique]

sorry folks! anonymous was me!

[Valentin]

"there really are communists in france? and people take them seriously"

Yup, affirmative to both questions. Some still talk about class warfare, they sing the International with the fist out, and if Stalin would still rule Russia, they would still go there in procession, no matter how many Soljenytzins would write about the Gulag prisons Stalin used in Siberia.
Right now, for instance, they celebrate Che Guevara, who is attributed this phrase, "The Communist Revolution must first happen inside each one of us".

[Valerie]

I'd like to know how much Tee-bo is worth. Probably much more than Sarko is, after all his years of 'activism'.

In any case, he's the face of all that is wrong with France.

I don't think he'll get the best of Sarko.

Some people say I'm a dreamer... But I'm not the only one.

')

[azloon]

valerie --

ooh blah dee, oooh blah da, life goes on ...........

[Zbigniew Mazurak]

We all knew it would happen.

Now is the time.

Sarkozy will now be tested for the first time since Inauguration Day.

Thibault will test him - whether he can withstand the protestors, or let them win.

[qwerty]

Desperately looking for some anglosaxon commentary on the DNA issue here in France, and not finding any....

[Sandrine]

"Thibault will test him - whether he can withstand the protestors, or let them win."

Well, as Thibault said : ""Governments relax when they they manage to get their way on five or six reforms," said Thibault. "They don't realise that the seventh will be the one that sets off the explosion."

Which means that it's not because Thibaut won't win with his first manif' that he will disappear !

Remember how he lost for the "retraites" against Fillon ? Well he obviously won for the CPE a few months after that... But I'm sure Sarko is well aware of that. That's why his team uses a lot of polls, and whenever the French are against something (but really against not just a little bit), they back off way before the manifestations start ! Smart !

Daniel, I have to tell you something : I'm like you, I can't stand Thibault. Son look est trop rétrograde (lol) et ses idées (enfin tel qu'on les entend à la télé) également !

[Daniel Strohl]

Sandrine,

"Daniel, I have to tell you something : I'm like you, I can't stand Thibault"

I call him Jeanne d'Arc, because of his hair cut. But he is "un dur à cuire", (hard to bake i.e tough) contrary to our national heroine who got in serious and even definitive troubles with our British friends and our first "collaborateur, l'évêque Cauchon" ...

May be we should see what the British are able to do to help us ...

[Sarah Hague]

I hope Sarko gets the better of Tee-bo à la Maggie T. I'm contemplating starvation and living in a tent in my old age since there'll be no one to pay for my pension!

It just adds insult to injury that he's just posturing to placate the hardliners. If he was that good a leader, he'd be bashing the hardliners over the head and telling them it's time to negotiate because while he'll be all right Jack when he retires, most of us won't!

[Daniel Strohl]

To Tee-Boo fans : (see my post dated 13.Oct.2007 - 16:57)

This morning, I walked again close by the main entrance of "la préfecture de Colmar" - the Propaganda (with a capital P) tent of "la CGT" was no more present. May be the "préfet" didn't appreciate the provocation - as far as I am concerned, I didn't appreciate it at all either!

Azloon wondered whether there are still communists in France. If I believe "Le Figaro" of today, the boss of the CGT union at our praised SNCF (French railway) is a communist "pur jus" - he is much more aggressive than Thibault, but fortunately, he seems to be more ambitious than intelligent. He is just intelligent enough to be able to be destructive. The name of this gentleman is Didier Le Reste. He looks like a reincarnation of a communist dinosaur, 1936 style, but camouflaged in a strict grey suit with matching tie and neatly ironed shirt. Surviving dinosaurs have to adapt to evolution, even if they are not leading it ...

[Valentin]

"Surviving dinosaurs have to adapt to evolution"

...unless a BIG ROCK falls from the sky and sweeps away their miserable life ! :)

[Guillaume]

I'm really fed up with this scargillan-french-union named CGT. I hope the gov will definitely kick their ass and do their job. It's time now, isn't it?

[Daniel Strohl]

Valentin, Guillaume

"..unless a BIG ROCK falls from the sky and sweeps away their miserable life ! :)

The problem is that BIG ROCKS fall randomly. So the best way is to kick their ass at every suitable opportunity until they understand that "sabordage" is not "syndicalisme" !

[Valentin]

Daniel,

I agree with you, they do tend to fall randomly; but when they DO fall, OH boy, they make such a SPLASH ! :)