Force Ouvrière (FO) has managed to overcome its propensity for divisions and quarrels. Friday, June 3, the third French trade union confederation elected a new general secretary in an atmosphere of quasi-serenity: Frédéric Souillot takes the place of Yves Veyrier, who did not represent himself. The ballot, organized in Rouen as part of the XXVe confederation congress, was a foregone conclusion, since there was only one candidate left, the other contender – Christian Grolier – having thrown in the towel two days before. During the five days of debates, many executives and delegates focused on what brings them together, with a view to the next battles to be waged against several reform projects – in particular that on pensions.
Even before the abandonment of Mr. Grolier, Mr. Souillot was almost certain to win, since he benefited from the support of two weighty allies: the “reformists” – which include the powerful Federation of Metallurgy, from which he came – and a large part of the Trotskyists. His challenger was mainly supported by the anarcho-syndicalist current. This led to a balance of power clearly in favor of Mr. Souillot. An advantage reinforced by the fact that senior officers of the organization had expressed their preference for there to be a single personality in the running. Negotiations had even begun with Mr. Grolier so that he gave up seeking the number one chair. What he decided to do. “I said to myself that the priority was that we be united (…) and so I withdrew my candidacy because it is first and foremost in the interest of the organization”he claims.
The desire to close ranks was also expressed when Mr. Veyrier submitted his activity report to the vote of the delegates – a summary of the results of his term of office. The consultation turned into a plebiscite, with just over 98% of votes in favor. We are far from the pitiful score achieved, in April 2018, by Jean-Claude Mailly, during the Lille congress, when he was about to leave his chair as secretary general: he had barely obtained half of the votes cast , after being shouted down by supporters of his successor, Pascal Pavageau. Six months later, the latter resigned, following the scandal triggered by the discovery of the existence of a file of FO officials, and Mr. Veyrier was elected, by a short head, against Mr. Grolier and a third opponent, Patrice Clos.
“On the right track”
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