2024-01-20 14:14:58
ParisIt is not usual to see police protesting in the street, but this week thousands of officers demonstrated in different French cities to demand from the government an improvement in working conditions during the Olympic Games in Paris, which are being held this summer. To ensure the security of the event, the Ministry of the Interior has notified members of the police that during the games 100% of the officers will be mobilized throughout the country.
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Vacations will be prohibited for much of the summer and many of them will be forced to go to Paris for two weeks. Those who remain in the territory will have to work in exceptional conditions, with the police stations half empty, with less cash than usual.
Police unions complain about a lack of planning and demand higher bonuses for working during the games. The Ministry of the Interior has not yet communicated which agents will have to travel to Paris or when they will be able to take vacations, a fact that has raised a lot of criticism. “Policemen need to know where they will work, in which service, at what times. It is extremely important to be able to manage family obligations,” warned the Alliance Police union on France 3. The unions are also asking for financial aid for police officers with young children who have to go to Paris during the Games and are threatening a major mobilization if their demands are not met.
Maximum terrorist alert
Security during the games represents a huge challenge for the government: France is on maximum terror alert and the French capital and its metropolitan area are expected to welcome 15 million visitors during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Just for the opening ceremony, which will be held outdoors on the River Seine, 35,000 police will be deployed to ensure the safety of the 400,000 spectators and the athletes who will parade down the river in boats.
The interior will mobilize the national police, the gendarmerie and 20,000 soldiers during the Games, but they will not be enough. Thousands of private security agents are expected to be hired, but companies admit they are struggling to recruit the required number of workers, around 25,000. Interior does not rule out mobilizing administrative staff from the ministry to carry out security tasks, while private security companies have called on university students. “If only 1% of the students in France worked in security tasks for the Games, the problem would be solved,” said the president of the French private security federation, Pierre Brajeux, a few days ago.
No weekly break
Workers in other sectors are also concerned about their working conditions during the Games. The government has approved a decree that allows companies that are directly or indirectly linked to the sporting event – private security, hospitality, audiovisual services and journalism, etc. – to cancel the weekly breaks for their workers during the Olympic Games. The government will also allow shops in 15 districts of Paris to open on Sundays throughout the summer.
“The companies will have the workers at their disposal for 14 days in a row,” reports Amar Lagha, general secretary of the CGT Comerços i Serveis. Lagha assures that his union is not against the Games, but that the most precarious workers are penalized. The CGT assures that in many sectors companies prevent their workers from taking holidays during the Games, but considers the decree a step further and promises “a social fire” if the government does not back down. “We will strike everywhere we can,” the union threatens.
Premiums for healthcare
The health sector of Paris and its metropolitan area will also be affected by the flood of tourists who will visit the city. In the case of the network of public hospitals, their managers have asked the workers of some services to voluntarily give up their vacations during the summer. In exchange, they propose a bonus of 1,200 gross euros per week worked for nurses and up to 2,500 gross euros for doctors. The unions, however, have criticized the proposal and are threatening to go on strike.
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