Garbage collectors in Paris threaten extended strike during Olympics

Paris faces the risk of unsightly rubbish piling up on its streets during the Olympic Games after a strike notice for the city’s garbage collectors was issued on Wednesday by France’s largest union. 

Garbage bags pile up near the Pantheon in Paris during a strike by garbage collectors in March 2023. AFP - ALAIN JOCARD

Less than three months before the Games, the CGT FTD NEEA union is demanding various concessions, including a special bonus of €1,900 for workers on duty throughout the Games as well as a €400 monthly increase in salaries. 

Other demands include raising the monthly driving allowance to €300 for garbage collectors operating small vehicles, and providing additional pay scale increments for garbage collectors, sewer workers and gravediggers. 

Garbage collectors in Paris staged rolling strikes in March and April last year, including blockades of the city's three incinerator plants, to protest the government's unpopular pension reform.

Summer of strikes?

The new threatened strike period runs for the entire summer, from 1 July to 8 September – covering both the Olympics and Paralympics, events that are expected to draw huge crowds to the French capital.

Strike notices were also issued for six days in May, a month that has several public holidays. 

"We don't intend to spoil these Olympics," said CGT FTD NEEA boss Christophe Farinet in an interview with RMC radio. "It's a leverage of pressure ... because the political sphere isn't meeting the demands of employees." 

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The strike notices apply to staff from the Directorate of Cleanliness and Water, including waste collectors, as well as the Municipal Automobile Transport employees. 

Authorities are yet to respond, but negotiations are expected to take place over the coming days. 

Meanwhile at a national level, the CGT has also issued strike notices across the three public sectors - state, local authorities and hospitals – until 15 September.