A few minutes before the government press conference to present the pension reform, the unions launched an appeal for mobilization for Thursday 19 January. It is a traditionally popular day of the week for demonstrations.
The general secretary of the CGT Philippe Martinez said this Friday morning on the set of BFMTV: he hopes for a mobilization against the pension reform that will be as strong as possible next Thursday and does not rule out reaching a million people on the street. For this reason, the unions that immediately called the strike at the end of the day on Tuesday are putting all the possibilities on their side. Starting with the choice of the day of the week in which to organize the events.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a Thursday, a day that unions regularly choose. In reality, organizations go by elimination, so it’s more of a default choice. First of all, the two days of the weekend are generally excluded because they are dedicated to rest. There may be rare exceptions for mixing young workers and employees who do not have the opportunity to strike.
Preference also for Tuesdays
Monday is also excluded for both worker and union factors. On the one hand, some workers may extend weekends and therefore be unable to strike. On the other hand, the first day of the week is often chosen to hold meetings of the trade union bodies. Furthermore, “there is always a sort of vigil of arms before a demonstration, with for example a service of order to put in place”, indicated Fabrice Angei, confederal secretary of the CGT, in The echoes. Impossible, therefore, to operate this vigil of arms on Sunday.
Friday is also rarely considered for reasons similar to those mentioned for Monday. In fact, this is an employee’s favorite day to take an RTT and have a long weekend away. Lastly, Wednesday corresponds to the day of the week on which some employees must regularly make themselves available to take care of their children. In summary, Tuesdays and Thursdays are therefore not insignificant choices of days for mobilisations.